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Here are some slides from a talk I heard on the topic (warning, PowerPoint) by a CERN magnet scientist:

https://indico.bnl.gov/event/609/contributions/15418/attachm...

There's some great stuff in there! Like calculating a 3% increase in systolic blood pressure due to magnetic drag at 8T.

One of the main takeaways is that DC fields are most likely to kill you because of a fast-moving screwdriver that someone left nearby.

By contrast, AC fields --- or moving in non-uniform DC fields --- can be more dangerous.

Apart from mechanical (flying screwdrivers) or electrical (fires in the bus-bars) hazards, he indicated that the most common hazard occurred when technicians put their head into/near a very high-field magnet: This affects parts of the "inner ear" vestibular system and therefore causes dizziness/vertigo. In short: They could fall over!



As a CERN summer student in 1993, I remember we had a very similar presentation.

This is not surprising that CERN is that knowledgable about extreme magnetic fields given how hard it is to deviate the beams.




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