Superconducting Wires
The earliest known material with superconducting properties were discovered in 1911 by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes at a temperature of 4.2 K, but their practical application remained limited until the last few decades. The modern development of superconducting wires began in 1950 when scientist Kenneth Kamper discovered an alloy of niobium and titanium that could maintain its electrical resistance at temperatures below 7.2K. Since then, an array of materials combinations have been synthesized and studied in the pursuit of developing higher performance superconducting wires.
Superconducting wires are broadly utilized in the electronics industry, which exploits the special properties of zero-resistance, permanent magnets and other characteristics. Superconducting wires are especially useful in large-scale power transmission, energy storage, and high-temperature cryogenic systems such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Superconducting wires are advantages over traditional copper and aluminum cables in several ways. First, they can conduct electricity with virtually no resistance (when cooled to the critical temperature), so that no energy is lost in the process of transmission. Secondly, superconducting wire has an extremely high maximum current carrying capacity, which can reach upwards of 200,000 amperes. Thirdly, since no energy is lost during the transmission, superconducting wires can be used for a variety of applications, such as power plants, electricity grids, and electric transportation.
Superconducting wires are also much thinner than traditional wiring, and because of this, they are ideal for applications where weight and space are significant constraints. Since they have virtually zero resistance, they can be insulated significantly thinner and lighter than traditional wiring, making them much easier to deploy.
In addition, because of their special properties, superconducting wires are deployed in diverse engineering applications where speed and precision are important. Some examples of specialized applications in narrow processing fields include: detecting magnetic fields and seismic waves; vibration and acoustic analysis; high-speed digital electronics; precise current flow control; and near instantaneous signal processing.
In order to create a superconducting wire, engineers use special processes known as vacuum-deposition and sputtering. The steps involve bonding a thin (1-2nm) layer of superconducting material to a substrate of metals, ceramics or similar materials. The thickest layer of the superconducting wire is often modified with additives in order to control the critical temperature.
In conclusion, superconducting wires are advantageous for a variety of applications in electrical engineering and beyond. They conduct electricity with zero resistance, can support extremely high current carrying capacities, and are thinner and lighter than traditional wiring. Additionally, because of their special properties, superconducting wires are often used in specialized engineering applications. Given all of these advantages, it is no wonder why superconducting wires are becoming increasingly sought after.
