Science / Medicine : Superconductors Improved

Telephone, television or computer data transmission lines made from high-temperature superconductors discovered earlier this year can carry 100 times as much information as the best optical fiber lines now in use, scientists at the University of Rochester and Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said Friday. Every second, such a superconducting line could transmit 15 million voice conversations or 10,000 color television channels, said physicist Gerard Mourou of Rochester.

Superconducting metals transmit electricity with no losses due to resistance, but must be cooled with expensive liquid helium. The new copper oxide superconductors can be cooled with liquid nitrogen, which is cheaper and easier to use.