New Superconductors Carry Up to 10 Times More Electricity Than Earlier Versions

The promise of high-temperature superconductors developed in the early 1990s gets a boost today with the report of new versions of the materials that can carry six to 10 times as much electricity as earlier formulations of the material. German researchers report in today’s Nature that they were able to produce wafers of the yttrium barium copper oxide material free of defects that previously limited current-carrying capacity. The new materials can be superconductors at liquid nitrogen temperatures, compared with older materials that must be cooled to near absolute zero.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II.