"this may spark a revolution in electronics as significant as the invention of the transistor, vacuum tube, and induction motor."
How, exactly?
How, exactly?
A thin superconductor can carry an almost arbitrary amount of electricity with 0% loss. This is a real-world application already for superconductors, but it requires cooling the entire conductor to liquid helium temperature. (It's not truly limitless - enough current will eventually break down the superconducting effect - but ten billion watts down a 1 mm thick wire is doable.)
Similarly, an inductor made out of a superconductor, that is looped back on itself, can hold a magnetic field indefinitely, with 0% loss. Energy storage.
Also, novel ways of manipulating magnetic fields, and as a consequence of that, novel ways of manipulating radiation that interacts with magnetic fields. Really, anything that needs a strong magnetic field could benefit. Maglev trains. Portable MRI scanners would exist today, if the electromagnet didn't need to be submerged in liquid helium.
Superconducting computer circuits would dissipate no heat other than for the work required to physically change the state of the transistors. Power consumption could decrease by several orders of magnitude. Though to be honest, one day printing room-temperature superconductors lithographically is a rather unlikely prospect. But one can hope.
And some proposed realizations of quantum computing would benefit from small, extremely powerful magnets, while other proposed methods exploit the properties of superconductors directly (Josephson effect).
In a way that could be used to power a car?
> SMES is also used in utility applications. In northern Wisconsin, a string of distributed SMES units were deployed to enhance stability of a transmission loop. The transmission line is subject to large, sudden load changes due to the operation of a paper mill, with the potential for uncontrolled fluctuations and voltage collapse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_magnetic_energ...
That's backwards: the power density is high, but the energy density is low.
But for local/grid storage, it's perfect. Also, infinite magnets, this might allow for less neodymium in renewable. And probably dozen new applications we don't think of yet.
I said 3 years ago on this website that the only techno silver bullet I believed in against climate change was room-temperature superconductors, as this would help tremendously on
- interconnections,
- energy storage,
- efficiency,
And obviously help with plasma research, that would then help with both fusion and space catapult.
I was disappointed way too much by tech news in the last 10 years, but if this is true, I'd be really happy.
I was always curious about that. The ability to hold extreme electrical currents means superconductors also produce extreme magnetic fields, which I presume will happily induce induction currents in whatever conductive material is nearby. If that material is non-superconductive, than it will start sapping the electromagnetic energy from said superconductor as the eddy currents get resisted, getting hot in the process.
What I guess I'm saying is that I'm not sure how you're supposed to build a superconductive grid or motor without also turning everything around it into an induction stove when you turn it on.
Electromagnetic induction involves the inductor, too. With a conventional electromagnet in a changing field, there is a current (an opposite current, in a sense) induced in the electromagnet's winding which is how the energy transfer occurs. The coil's apparent resistance increases as it moves through the field. But superconductors have no resistance :)
Since a superconductor rejects induction from outside magnetic fields (Meissner effect) they do not inductively couple in the same way. Once energized and then looped, a superconducting magnet behaves more like a permanent magnet.
With regard to use in power storage, strong magnets of any kind are rather inconvenient (even dangerous) around anything magnetic.
Could this be used to make a bomb?
If the new material really is as easy to manufacture as it seems, could homegrown terrorists easily create WMDs?
The amount of current generated during the first stage of an EMP detonation is so high it ablates the coil away, which wouldn't happen with superconducting wires. However, it wouldn't protect it against the explosive used to generate the magnetic field, which is the biggest challenge.
A picture is worth a thousand words here.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=superconductor+critical+surface&t=...
Superconductors operate within the bounds of their critical surface. The max current depends on the temperature and field density, it's never arbitrary.
superconductors can't carry arbitrary current. A lot yes, but dependent on the material, temperature, magnetic field, etc. And on the subject of the material, can it even be made into a wire? Is it stable? How much does it cost? So assuming it costs about the same as copper, what are the benefits? 0% loss, vs, maybe 10%? So the grid is 10% more efficient? I mean, that's definitely useful, but...
Again for energy storage, what's the energy density? How much does it cost, if it's even possible to configure for that use? It sounds like you expect to power a car from an AA-sized cell - not happening IMHO.
Microelectronics; Can you make IC's with this? What is the feature size? We now have 10^11 transistors on a chip, can this do that? How costly? Even if it can, what's the actual benefit? Just power-saving, or can this ramp up to terrahertz speeds? Again, IMHO, not happening, except maybe for a few specialized switching applications.
Super-strong magnetic fields? Ultra-sensitive magnetic detectors - OK, these make sense.
I mean ambient superconductors would be a major thing, useful across many fields, and perhaps creating entirely new capabilities, but let's not get carried away that suddenly climate change is fixed, fusion will happen tomorrow (It'll never happen economically, IMHO), we'll all be moving around on levitating chairs like Wall-E, powered by AAs, etc, etc.
> what are the benefits? 0% loss, vs, maybe 10%?
With current lines, yes, rarely over 10% in practice. But what might be built without that barrier? There are many tens of gigawatts of undeveloped hydroelectric power in northern Canada, but that power has to be brought over some 5000 kilometres to New York or Chicago or Toronto. That can't currently be done. The losses are too high.
America's primary solar power generating regions in the future, likewise, appear to be far from the major cities.
> Again for energy storage, what's the energy density? How much does it cost, if it's even possible to configure for that use? It sounds like you expect to power a car from an AA-sized cell - not happening IMHO.
Yes, it's already used, real-world actual applications: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_magnetic_energ...
The energy density is too low for anything like domestic use. It will probably be most useful at grid scale. The economics may not work out.
> Again, IMHO, not happening, except maybe for a few specialized switching applications.
Switching at just under 1 THz has been demonstrated recently. Anyway, I agree. I already said as much -- "a rather unlikely prospect".
C'mon. I'm just excited about superconductors. They're cool! Except hopefully not anymore! I don't believe anything I said was factually wrong. Your primary gripe seems to be that I'm not sufficiently pessimistic about the likelihood of some of the possibilities. So -- room temperature superconductors are probably not real. And everything I spoke of must be understood as conjecture and hypothetical, with large and unknown variables, regarding things like the practical cost and material workability of the room temperature superconductors, which may not even be possible. Better?
And a bit fed up with the hype - along with fusion it's been the holy grail, and presented as some kind of salvation, for 40 years or more.
Basically utopia.
Also, how does this help fusion become possible?
Currently transistors and connections use a lot of power just to transfer some bits, superconducting wires and maybe transistors would help.
> Also, how does this help fusion become possible?
Stronger magnets which you don't need to cool with liquid helium will help achieve better plasma confinement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARC_fusion_reactor
"The most probable candidate material is yttrium barium copper oxide, with a design temperature of 20 K, allowing various coolants (e.g. liquid hydrogen, liquid neon, or helium gas) instead of the much more complicated liquid helium refrigeration chosen by ITER."
I think the implication is that clock-speed could start increasing again. It would probably require a completely new manufacturing process, but if we assume this superconductor is legit, perhaps an older process could manufacture it.
If so, maybe we could have (just spitballing here, I have no idea) 28nm super conducting CPUs that run at a 1thz instead of 4ghz. That would be quite an improvement over today's CPUs, even with fewer transistors, I think.
There are other losses and limitation in increasing clock-speeds aside from just resistive losses, but I think they are a significant part of the current bottleneck. Other losses involve transistor switching losses, and inductive losses but I don't really know the details, and I think those details change with superconductors.
Processors basacally convert almost all power into heat by resistive losses. With room temparature superconductors you'll only consume energy on the state changes of the processor.
With this superconductive material you could create loops of wire (like a resistor) but instead it would store energy practically lossless in a few seconds.
Superconductivity up to 100c and 1bar would be a historic moment in human ingenuity.
Energy Efficiency: Superconductors conduct electricity without resistance, which means they don't produce heat as a byproduct. This could make electronic devices more energy-efficient and help them run cooler, which could extend battery life in mobile devices and potentially reduce the need for cooling in larger devices like computers.
Processing Speed: Superconducting circuits could potentially operate at higher speeds than conventional circuits, which could lead to faster processors and more powerful computers and smartphones.
Data Storage: Superconductors could also be used to create more efficient and compact data storage devices. For example, they could be used in the development of Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM), a type of non-volatile memory that uses magnetic states to store information. This could potentially offer faster and more energy-efficient data storage than current technologies.
Quantum Computing: Superconductors are already used in some types of quantum computers, which use the principles of quantum mechanics to perform complex calculations much more quickly than conventional computers. A room-temperature superconductor could make quantum computers more practical and affordable, which could have a profound impact on many areas of technology and science.
Power Transmission: Superconductors can transmit electricity without any loss, which could dramatically increase the efficiency of power grids. This could reduce energy costs, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and make renewable energy sources more viable.
Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Trains: Superconductors can produce powerful magnetic fields, which can be used to levitate trains above their tracks, reducing friction and allowing for higher speeds. Current maglev trains already use superconductors, but they require cooling to very low temperatures, which is expensive and energy-intensive. Room-temperature superconductors could make maglev trains more practical and affordable.
Medical Imaging and Therapy: Superconductors are used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines to generate the strong magnetic fields required for imaging. Room-temperature superconductors could make MRI machines cheaper, more efficient, and more accessible. They could also be used in other medical technologies, such as particle beam therapies for cancer treatment.
Scientific Research: Superconductors are used in a variety of scientific instruments, such as particle accelerators and detectors. Room-temperature superconductors could make these instruments more efficient and less expensive to operate.
Electric Vehicles (EVs): Superconductors could be used to make more efficient electric motors and batteries for electric vehicles, potentially increasing their range and reducing their cost.
Telecommunications: Superconductors could be used to create more efficient and higher-capacity communication networks, potentially improving internet speeds and reducing latency.
Aerospace and Defense: Superconductors could be used in a variety of aerospace and defense applications, such as advanced radar systems, satellite technologies, and even propulsion systems.
I'd dispute the 'dramatically' more efficient power grids, unless that's couched in industry terms - ie a 10% reduction in transmission losses might be 'dramatic' for energy grid engineers. But not really world-changing, for the rest of us.
"Aerospace and Defense: Superconductors could be used in a variety of aerospace and defense applications, such as advanced radar systems, satellite technologies, and even propulsion systems."
OK, now we're getting somewhere. What new capabilities?
But sure, for specific applications an increase to 'near 100%' efficiency could have important secondary effects, eliminating heat-sinks, etc.
Some motors are already 95%+ efficient, so 99% would hardly be a revolution, though reduced cooling would be a benefit.
Now, the same form factor can do 200-400W and be ok.
So it doesn't change the efficiency of the system (we still use a bunch of wh) but it dramatically changes the form factor of the motor!
We’re kinda in the future, and that’s neat.
Ironically, if this problem does get solved, you could have the whole AI system in your pocket.
It's hard to develop a technology that can't be used by the military in some capacity but as such things go this one seems substantially more useful to everyone than useful to militaries.
https://thebulletin.org/2022/03/how-dolphins-protect-the-us-...