Magnet Milestones
Francis Bitter and the invention of the Bitter Plate
By Amy Mast
Would the Magnet Lab exist without the work of Francis Bitter? Maybe, but certainly not in the same way. The academic and inventor pioneered some of the most important magnet technology used at the lab, and his influence still resonates as technology catches up with his ideas.
Bitter, who grew up in Weehawken Township, New Jersey, was already a scientific standout when he became interested in magnetism as a Ph.D. student. That spark of interest would come to revolutionize the construction of experimental magnets.
After getting his undergraduate degree at Columbia University, Bitter elected to stay and continue graduate studies there. In 1930, his doctorate complete, he worked for Westinghouse, and remained a consultant there after the pull of research drew him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1934.
Bitter invented a technology during his early years at MIT that solved a long-standing problem: the energy needed to make a high magnetic field gives off heat, and high temperatures can ruin both the magnetic field and the magnet itself. To solve the problem, he created an electromagnet using stacked copper plates with strategically placed holes through which cooled water could flow. This allowed for the creation of higher fields than ever before.
More sophisticated versions of the same technology are still used today, at magnetic field strengths Bitter could have only dreamed of in the 1930s. In fact, Magnet Lab engineers took the “Bitter” plate design and re-engineered the shape of the holes (creating the “Florida Bitter” plate), leading to a series of world records for strength of magnetic field.
With the advent of World War II, Bitter halted his experiments to work with the Naval Bureau of Ordnance to find ways to demagnetize German-built mines placed in the English Channel. He also pioneered some the Allied force’s surveillance equipment, and after the war, he remained a reserve officer for many years.
Bitter finished out his career at MIT, eventually becoming the associate dean of the school of science and a founding member of the group that designed and acquired funding for the original National Magnet Laboratory in Cambridge, renamed the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory in 1967 upon his death.
