Sound Transit and the University of Washington are working out a $43 million deal to move some of the university’s labs across campus, in order to avoid interference caused by an underground light rail tunnel.
The lab buildings in question contain very precise and sensitive equipment, such as electron microscopes, that are extremely vulnerable to electromagnetic interference. Trains, buses, and other large moving, metallic objects have the capability of disrupting these sensitive devices by exerting formidable magnetic fields that have the potential to, among other things, move electron beams and blur microscope images.
According to Richard Chapman, associate vice president for Capital Projects at the University, much of the university’s lab equipment has “really, really, really high resolution — so when the trains come by, they generate a magnetic field, and that distorts the imaging, and you get bad results.”
While Sound Transit has investigated ways to minimize ground vibrations – namely, by employing a “floating-slab track” that cushions concrete with rubber – UW officials are still concerned by the effects of electromagnetic interference. Moreover, this interference can take place from hundreds of feet away, as only a minute amount of magnetic disturbance is needed to compromise instrument precision. Because of this, even though the light rail will be constructed 80-140 feet below the university, it still has the capability to majorly disrupt instruments located well above the ground.
With this information in mind, it appears that physically moving the university’s lab facilities is the only way to ensure that the university’s equipment is safe from electromagnetic interference.
“The bad actor is perturbation caused by a large metallic mass moving through the Earth’s geomagnetic field,” Chapman said. “As far as we know, there is no known way to mitigate, cancel out, or shield at the source from this perturbation.”
The labs will be moved to a new addition on UW’s Mechanical Engineering building on the other side of campus. According to officials, this building has a particularly thick foundation designed to block vibrations and electromagnetic disruption, and is specifically designed to resist electromagnetic disruption. This makes it highly suitable for housing highly sensitive lab equipment.
The first phase of the light rail will open in 2016.
-Melanie Abeygunawardana
