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SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIALS:
NORMAL AND HIGH TEMPERATURE
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
AND APPLICATIONS
SUPERCONDUCTOR
Introduction
Father of Super conductivity is H.Kamerlingh Onnes
Duch Physist (1911).
In his experiments on the properties of metals in general
and on the electrical conductivity (thereby resistivity) of
Mercury (Hg).
He observed that, when pure mercury is cooled, its
resistivity vanished abruptly at 4.2 K. Above this temperature,
the resistivity is immensurable, while below this temperature
the resistivity is very small that it is essentially zero. ( is in
the order of 105 ohm cm).i.e., at 4.2 K, Hg is converted into a
superconductor.
This phenomenon of losing resistivity absolutely when
cooled to a sufficiently low temperature is called `super
conductivity.
Chemical formula
Tc (K)
123
YBa2 Cu3 O7
90
Tl-1212
Tl Ba2 CaCu2 O7
80
Characteristics of HTSC
Superconductors are characterized by a materialdependent magnetic field H, above which the superconducting
state disappears.
The critical field is a function of temperature. All the HTS
materials are type II superconductors .When the applied field
H < Hc1, the material is in the superconducting Meissner state
whereas in the mixed state, the magnetic field penetrates
partly into the material in the form of vortices.
Type II superconducting materials have usually higher
critical fields than type I superconductors which makes them
suitable for many advanced applications.
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(a)
(b)
APPLICATIONS OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
1. Superconducting Transmission Lines
Since 10% to 15% of generated electricity is
dissipated in resistive losses in transmission lines, the
prospect of zero loss superconducting transmission lines
is appealing.
Current experiments with power applications of
high-temperature superconductors focus on uses of
BSCCO in tape forms and YBCO in thin film forms.
Current densities above 10,000 amperes per square
centimeter are considered necessary for practical power
applications, and this threshold has been exceeded in
several configurations.
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4. Computers
If computers used superconducting parts they
would be much more faster than the computers today. They
would much smaller because no space for heat would be
required. Computers of today need a great deal of space for
cooling.Computers are being developed today that use
Josephson junctions.
The Josepson effect states that electrons are able to flow
across an insulating barrier placed between two
superconducting materials. Josephson junctions have a thin
layer
of
insulating
materials
squeezed
between
superconductive material. Josephson junctions require little
power to operate, thus creating less heat.
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5. Josephson Devices
Devices based upon the characteristics of a Josephson
junction are valuable in high speed circuits. Josephson
junctions can be designed to switch in times of a few
picoseconds. Their low power dissipation makes them useful in
high-density computer circuits where resistive heating limits the
applicability of conventional switches.
6. SQUID Magnetometer
The superconducting quantum interference device
(SQUID) consists of two superconductors separated by thin
insulating layers to form two parallel Josephson junctions.
The device may be configured as a magnetometer to detect
incredibly small magnetic fields -- small enough to measure
the magnetic fields in living organisms. Squids have been
used to measure the magnetic fields in mouse brains to test
whether there might be enough magnetism to attribute their
navigational ability to an internal compass.
SL
SC
SL
SC
x< GL
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10-14 T
10-10 T
10-13 T
8. Fault-Current Limiters
High fault-currents caused by lightning strikes are a
troublesome and expensive nuisance in electric power grids.
One of the near-term applications for high temperature
superconductors may be the construction of fault-current
limiters which operate at 77K. The need is to reduce the fault
current to a fraction of its peak value in less than a cycle (1/60
sec).
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