Superconductors tagged posts

Professor Matthew Sullivan levitates a DeLorean figurine using superconductors. Credit: Image courtesy of Ithaca College

The levitating technology Marty McFly encountered in his jaunt through Oct. 21, 2015 during the 1989 film “Back to the Future II” isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem, thanks to superconductivity. “We’re probably closer to being able to create a transportation system that’s levitating than we are to creating personal automobiles that can both fly and drive,” said A/Prof Matthew C. Sullivan

When properly cooled, a superconductor will resist magnetic attraction and actually float above a magnet...

This corresponds to half of the pressure of Earth’s core. With their high-pressure experiments the Mainz researchers have thus not only set a new record for superconductivity, their findings have also highlighted a potential new way to transport current at room temperature with no loss.

For many solid-state physicists, superconductors that are suitable for use at room temperature are still a dream. Special copper oxide ceramics, so-called cuprates, took the leading positions in terms of transition temperature, i.e., the temperature at which the material loses its resistance. The record for a ceramic of this type is roughly -140C at normal air pressure -109C at high pressure. In the ceramics, a special, unconventional form of superconductivity occurs...