What Is This?

The MagLab is full of unusual contraptions. Find out what they are, how they work and why we need them. We are adding to this list over time, so check back again soon for new entries. These articles appeared originally in Flux magazine, a bi-annual publication of the Magnet Lab aimed at the general public.

You've got to put all that cable somewhere, right?

What are those big, silver containers that scientists push down the lab hallways?

The MagLab's bus tunnel has an aluminum track, but it doesn't carry passengers – it carries electricity, up to 56 megawatts of it.

Helium recovery bags look like fun-flates, but these bloated bags are not child's play: They are used to recover and recycle helium, a gas without which our magnets could not function.

Venture inside a probe with a MagLab engineer.