Technical Articles
Introduction to Superconductivity
Superconductivity - a History
The phenomena of Superconductivity was discovered in the early 1900's
by a scientist studying supercooled Mercury metal. For the next 75 years
there was little progress made toward increasing the temperature at which
these materials changed from normal conductors to the superconductive
state. In 1986, Swiss scientists Bednorz and Mueller discovered the effect
in a ceramic at a temperature nearly 10 degrees warmer than any material
investigated in the history of science. This set off a global race to
raise the bar even higher, and by 1993 materials had been developed which
changed state nearly 12 degrees 'hotter' than the original Swiss material.
These ceramic materials, like their metallic predecessors, are both 'perfect
conductors' of electricity and diamagnetic - which means they repel all
magnetic fields. These properties, achieved at a temperature easily attainable
by cooling with 'liquid air', rekindled enthusiasm for Superconductivity.
These days Superconductivity can be demonstrated in a Styrofoam cup using
liquid Nitrogen poured from a child's lunch box thermos. This new ease
of use has brought forth an unprecedented investment from industry and
government to understand and exploit the wonders of these new materials.
Superconductivity - the Future is Now
From flywheel energy storage to electronic sensing devices to superconductive wire, High Temperature
Superconductors are nearing commercialization. Remarkably, scientists from
NASA have been working on a gravity shielding device which has a High Temperature Superconductor. This may have application in advanced propulsion systems and 'anti-gravity'
chambers. So, while products which have been in development for nearly
twenty years are finally coming out of the lab and into the market place,
new and more exotic applications are on the horizon.
SCI Engineered Materials is uniquely poised to benefit from the commercial
success of a wide range of applications due to its manufacture
and supply of the fundamental materials needed by this industry (such as powders, sputtering targets
and Levitators™). For a complete primer on High Temperature Superconductivity please visit
the excellent web site at www.superconductors.org.
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