Ever since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in 1986, there has been intense international effort to develop commercial products utilizing this new phenomenon. Since all of the high temperature superconducting materials discovered to date are ceramics that easily break under strain, the first major obstacle for commercialization was to produce a long length yet flexible conductor. By 1991, this obstacle was first realized by American Superconductor Corporation in Massachusetts who produced a flexible high temperature (110K) superconductor that showed no resistance at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (77K). Since then several companies around the world have been able to produce kilometer long lengths of these materials which can carry 30-50 amps of current without showing any resistance (in 10x100 mil crossections). At the present, early prototype devices are being tested at several laboratories around the world. How might this new technology improve our future? There are hopes that extremely fast superconducting computers will eventually result from these novel materials. In the next few years, it is hoped that much higher capacity superconducting power transmission lines will replace some of the lower capacity underground transmission lines reducing the power line losses . This seminar will address some of these basic questions as well as providing some intriguing superconductor demonstrations such as the phenomenon of levitation and a small superconducting motor. Finally, as part of a well rounded program, a brief review of the fundamental properties of superconductors will also be given.
Ed Jones Last updated 7/18/96