Superconducting wires are electrical wires made of superconductive material. When cooled below their transition temperatures, they have zero electrical resistance. Most commonly, conventional superconductors such as niobium–titanium are used,[1] but high-temperature superconductors such as YBCO are entering the market.
Superconducting wire's advantages over copper or aluminum include higher maximum current densities and zero power dissipation. Its disadvantages include the cost of refrigeration of the wires to superconducting temperatures (often requiring cryogens such as liquid nitrogen or liquid helium), the danger of the wire quenching (a sudden loss of superconductivity), the inferior mechanical properties of some superconductors, and the cost of wire materials and construction.[2]
Its main application is in superconducting magnets, which are used in scientific and medical equipment where high magnetic fields are necessary.
- ^ "Characteristics of Superconducting Magnets". Superconductivity Basics. American Magnetics Inc. 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2008.
- ^ Dumé, Belle (July 26, 2006). "Superconducting wire breaks record". Physics World. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2009.