FV 099 : Experimenting with the world’s most powerful magnets

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Meet Audrey, a French researcher working at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. Audrey will explain to you what she does there! What I love with French Voices is that you get to hear a variety of voices and accents, but also learn about so many topics and professions. Today is one of these episodes dealing with a highly specific topic, something you may even not have heard of before, and it is a GREAT exercise for your comprehension skills.

From Grenoble in France to Florida: how did Audrey get into fundamental research? Audrey is testing and studying materials by submitting them high magnetic fields, extreme pressure and extreme cold in order to understand their properties. Listen to understand why this is done and why it is important! Audrey will give us some examples of practical applications so you can understand what types of materials are now used in daily life for their properties. You’ll find out how the hot plate of your stove works! MRI scans are another revolution made possible by this essential work of research.

If you’re in the US, you may want to visit the laboratory after listening to the episode. It is possible!

Vocab List

azote (nm) = nitrogen
centrale nucléaire (nf) = nuclear power plant
champ magnétique (nm) = magnetic field
composant (nm) = component
conducteur/trice (adj) = conductive
cuivre (nm) = copper
doctorat (nm) = PHd
échantillon (nm) = sample
expérience (nf) = experiment
IRM (nf) = MRI scan
isolant (nm) = insulating material
plaque de cuisson (nf) = hotplate

Questions:

1. What does “recherche fondamentale” mean?
2. What unit is used to measure magnetic fields?
3. Why is it impossible to reach the absolute zero in temperature?

Answers:

1. It means that you research/experiment without having a direct application in mind. This is not the goal.
2. The Tesla.
3. There will always be a tiny amount of perturbation creating friction and therefore heat.

Links & Resources

• https://nationalmaglab.org

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