DailyDirt: Closer To Understanding Superconductivity

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The phenomenon of superconductivity could be extremely useful -- if the materials that exhibit the behavior could do so at ambient conditions. The first material discovered to conduct electricity with no resistance was mercury in 1911, but mercury requires temperatures below 10 °K to do this. In 1986, a high temperature superconductor was found that seemed to work around liquid nitrogen temperatures. We've made some progress pushing the limits of the superconductors we've made so far, and it looks like we may be on the cusp of a much better understanding these materials and how they work. Here are just a few links on the matter. If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.
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Filed Under: materials, mercury, physics, science, superconductivity, ybco


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  • identicon
    Pixelation, 22 Dec 2014 @ 5:33pm

    Arturo Toscanini was a super conductor. I'm pretty sure he was very close to room temperature...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Editor-In-Chief, 22 Dec 2014 @ 6:14pm

    One reason for the lack of progress in understanding is ...

    the underlying model or models they use. The Standard Model, though somewhat successful, has a few major flaws. It has too many magic numbers and/or properties being assigned to the components of the model. They use the "just is" methodology instead of looking for other models that may give better relationships. This we can put down to the "don't rock the boat" mentality of preserving reputations.

    I will not be surprised when the current crop of models are laid to rest and completely new models are put in place. There are a number of alternatives, some of which date back to the 1920's or there-about which are being revived which have the potential of a much better view of the natural world.

    David Oliver Graeme Samuel Offenbach

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Pixelation, 22 Dec 2014 @ 6:38pm

      Re: One reason for the lack of progress in understanding is ...

      So what you are saying is, we should switch from "Super conductors" to "Super models"?

      I concur...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 22 Dec 2014 @ 10:17pm

      Re: One reason for the lack of progress in understanding is ...

      Definitely something involving bosonic majority-carrier pairs, though, à la BCS?

      No?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      max (profile), 23 Dec 2014 @ 5:25am

      Re: One reason for the lack of progress in understanding is ...

      It has been a few years since I worked in the semi-conductor field. I retired in 2005. About the time I retired, they were working on "Diamond" wafers, to make semi-conductors with.

      Supposedly, from what I could understand of it, they would run cooler. I had heard they got the expenses down pretty low, in making them.

      I thought this was going to be one of the ways, they hoped to develop superconductors?

      Had you heard of this process? If so, would it aid in the process of superconducting?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 23 Dec 2014 @ 7:11am

        Re: Re: One reason for the lack of progress in understanding is ...

        Diamond based semi-conductors has nothing to do with superconductors. The reason that diamond based semi-conductors would run cooler is because diamond is an extremely good conductor of heat (approximately 5 times better than copper). So removing the heat generated within the semi-conductor would be far more effective than the current process with silicon based semi-conductors. In fact, there already are diamond heat spreaders used to transfer heat from the semi-conductor to the heat sink.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 22 Dec 2014 @ 6:59pm

    Get it the easy way

    Stop trying to find exotic material combinations to get the impedance down. Use the known properties of 2d graphene to make sandwiched layers of magnet and graphene. When you get the balance right, it will allow electrons to flow like a superfluid.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    eponymousCoward, 22 Dec 2014 @ 9:11pm

    Kelvin

    FYI: Kelvin isn't measure in degrees, it's an absolute scale.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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