malc@tahoe.UUCP (Malcolm L. Carlock) (11/01/87)
This news item is a couple of months old (I just found the clipping again while cleaning up the ol' apartment), but I do not recall having seen this particular information in this newsgroup (remember the "superconductor" discussion that was going on here a few months ago?) Apologies if this information has indeed already appeared. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (From the Reno Gazette-Journal, 8/19/87, reprinted without permission) "SCIENTISTS DEVELOP STURDY SUPERCONDUCTOR" WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists announced Tuesday that they have developed a superconducting material that remains stable at relatively high temperatures despite repeated use, a characteristic not seen in other similar materials. Physicists at the University of Maryland in College Park said their material consistently conducts electricity without resistance at temperatures of minus 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Measurements indicate the new compuound is a stable superconductor at a temperature 2 1/2 times higher than that previously reported by researchers at other institutions. Drs. Jeffrey Lynn, Rolfe Glover III and Satindar Bhagat said other scientists have reported finding materials that appeared to be superconducting at even higher heat levels, some approaching room temnperature. But these other compounds are less stable and lose their ability to channel electricity without loss of energy after being heated or cooled a few times, they said. "Our material is similar to other high-temperature materials, but ours happens to be more stable", Lynn said. "We can cycle superconductivity on and off many times and get the same consistent measurements." The ability to transmit electricity without a loss of energy to resistance has received renewed interest in the last year from scientists and business interests. Superconductivity could one day lead to better computers, magnetically levitated trains and more efficient generation and transmission of electrical power. Materials must be chilled before becoming superconductors, and until recently they had to be made cooler than 400 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. This required using expensive and hard-to-handle coolants such as liquid helium. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Malcolm L. Carlock malc@tahoe.unr.edu.UUCP University of Nevada - Reno