Microsoft-backed Veir is bringing superconductors to data centers

techcrunch.com

32 points·sudonanohome··10 comments

Dumb fact: the layer of Uranus’s atmosphere where it’s 1 bar is also around 75 K, the temperature high-temperature superconductors like to live at.

I casually research this topic once in a while, and so far, have not seen high temperature superconductors emerge from either the laboratory or short haul pilot projects. Is this technology close to widespread commercial use?

The technology is widespread, you can buy spools of wires and wind your own coils. A spool might still be in the range of 3k$+, probably due to the manufacturing costs of all those single wire strands.

However, as we already know, the superconductivity currently starts only at low temps and I think the wires are limited by a maximum current (max field density?)

If you handle the spool, NEVER lose the beginning of the wire, always fixate it, otherwise there might be a knots after some unspooling, then you might need to buy a new one.

Learned the lesson about the end of the wire with 3D printer filament.

High temperature super conductors is a term of art. It does not mean what it sounds like. They still have to be pretty cold.

Indeed, ever since the first high-Tc superconductors were announced, the holy grail has been 77k, i.e., liquid nitrogen. In addition, critical current, field, and pressure are important for practical applications.

I'm not sure what your criteria are, but high-Tc superconductors are used in a bunch of commercial applications. Magnet windings, very high-Q RF filters, and some exotic switching applications. "High temperature" still means liquid-nitrogen cooled but compared to liquid helium that's swelteringly hot.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com