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Article: A superconducting tape ... mass produced? (new tape carries 1 million amperes of electric current per square centimeter; new methods for producing high-temperature superconducting wire in mass quantities)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- April 29, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A flexible superconducting tape that carries more than 1 million amperes of electric current per square centimeter of material has proven itself in the laboratory, scientists report. Stephen R. Foltyn, a materials scientist at the Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory, and his colleagues describe making bendable strips that superconduct at 75 kelvins, the temperature of liquid nitrogen.
For a superconductor to carry so much electricity in such a small area -- a density of current 100 times greater than similar compounds have carried -- sets a record for electric transmission at that temperature, the scientists state. By contrast, the number 12 copper wire used in ...