Slim-look superconductors lead the applications race
When George Bednorz and Alex Mueller discovered high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) 10 years ago at IBM research labs near Zurich, newspapers, magazines, and TV news reports across the world were soon filled with forecasts of super-efficient power lines, trains floating along at unimaginable speeds levitated by superconducting magnets, and swift, silent ships powered by magnetohydro-dynamic drives. Chunks of these new ceramic materials, which can conduct electricity free form all resistance at temperatures high enough to require only cheap liquid nitrogen as a coolant rather than expensive liquid helium, would pave the way to the technological future. However, researchers are now thinking of thin films rather than chunks of HTS material. Superconductors do not always require long wires and coils or high currents. Electronic devices make from HTS ceramics have some remarkable properties, and all you need is a thin layer of film of the ceramic grown on a rigid substrate. This article discusses the possibilities of applications using new thin film superconductors.
- OSTI ID:
- 387402
- Journal Information:
- Science, Journal Name: Science Journal Issue: 5277 Vol. 273; ISSN SCIEAS; ISSN 0036-8075
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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