A large volume magnetic field free space for thermal demagnetization and other experiments in palaeomagnetism

Summary

Three orthogonal coil systems have been constructed within a cube of side 2.5 m to cancel the geomagnetic field to less than 1 gamma over a large volume. The north-south and vertical components are cancelled by systems of four square coils whilst a square Helmholtz pair cancels the east-west component. Cancellation to 1 part in 10⁵ (0.5 gamma in Canberra) is achieved within a sphere of diameter 35 cm, more than 20 times the field-free volume which could be obtained using conventional Helmholtz coils within the available space. Three fluxgate detectors monitor the residual field and their output, taken through a feedback circuit, allows compensation for field variations. The residual field can be maintained to less than 0.5 gamma over the working volume of about 22,000 cm³ during the critical part of a laboratory experiment.