TY - JOUR
T1 - High-temperature superconductors
AU - Chu, P. C.W.
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge help from X. Lu in preparing some of the figures. The materials synthesis and neutron scattering efforts on the hole-doped 122 and 111 family of materials are supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences , under Contract No. DE-SC0012311 . The neutron scattering work on the electron-doped 122 family of materials is supported by U.S. NSF , DMR-1362219 . The combination of RPA calculation and neutron scattering is supported by U.S. NSF , DMR-1436006 and DMR-1308603 . Part of the materials synthesis at Rice University is supported by the Robert A. Welch Foundation Grants No. C-1839 .
PY - 1995/9
Y1 - 1995/9
N2 - Physicists have discovered more than 100 superconductors with critical temperatures that exceed those of the best conventional superconductors. The novel materials raised many questions, perhaps foremost among them: Can superconductors follow in the footsteps of their cousins, the semiconductors, and dramatically change our lives for the better? A qualified `yes' is not overly optimistic, because superconductors can touch every aspect of our existence that involves electricity. Superconducting trains, nearly perfect, large energy storage systems and ultrafast computers are not realistic goals at the moment, but plenty of other applications are, in principle, possible soon: efficient generation, transmission and storage of electricity; detection of electromagnetic signals too small to be sensed by conventional means; protection of electrical grids from power surges, sags and outages; and the development of faster and more compact cellular communications technology. This paper discusses the fundamentals, materials, prototype products and applications - present and future.
AB - Physicists have discovered more than 100 superconductors with critical temperatures that exceed those of the best conventional superconductors. The novel materials raised many questions, perhaps foremost among them: Can superconductors follow in the footsteps of their cousins, the semiconductors, and dramatically change our lives for the better? A qualified `yes' is not overly optimistic, because superconductors can touch every aspect of our existence that involves electricity. Superconducting trains, nearly perfect, large energy storage systems and ultrafast computers are not realistic goals at the moment, but plenty of other applications are, in principle, possible soon: efficient generation, transmission and storage of electricity; detection of electromagnetic signals too small to be sensed by conventional means; protection of electrical grids from power surges, sags and outages; and the development of faster and more compact cellular communications technology. This paper discusses the fundamentals, materials, prototype products and applications - present and future.
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0029376474
VL - 273
SP - 162
EP - 165
JO - Scientific American
JF - Scientific American
SN - 0036-8733
IS - 3
ER -