MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

WHAT IS SUPERCONDUCTIVITY??
For some materials, the resistivity vanishes at some low temperature: they become superconducting. Superconductivity is the ability of certain materials to conduct electrical current with no resistance. Thus, superconductors can carry large amounts of current with little or no loss of energy.

Type I superconductors: pure metals, have low critical field Type II superconductors: primarily of alloys or intermetallic compounds.
Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

MEISSNER EFFECT
When you place a superconductor in a magnetic field, the field is expelled below TC.

T >Tc

T < Tc
Magnet

Superconductor

Currents i appear, to cancel B. i x B on the superconductor produces repulsion.

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

A superconductor displaying the MEISSNER EFFECT

Superconductors have electronic and magnetic properties. That is, they have a negative susceptibility, and acquire a polarization OPPOSITE to an applied magnetic field. This is the reason that superconducting materials and magnets repel one another.

If the temperature increases the sample will lose its superconductivity and the magnet cannot float on the superconductor.
Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

Record TC versus Year Discovered

180 160 140 120
HgBa2Ca2Cu2O8 Pressure HgBa2Ca2Cu2O8 Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O8

TC (K)

100
YBa2Cu3O7

80 60 40 20
Hg NbN La-Sr-Cu-O La-Ba-Cu-O

Nb3Ge

0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970

1986 1980 1990

2000

Year

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

APPLICATIONS:
Superconducting Magnetic Levitation
The track are walls with a continuous series of vertical coils of wire mounted inside. The wire in these coils is not a superconductor. As the train passes each coil, the motion of the superconducting magnet on the train induces a current in these coils, making them electromagnets. The electromagnets on the train and outside produce forces that levitate the train and keep it centered above the track. In addition, a wave of electric current sweeps down these outside coils and propels the train forward.

The Yamanashi MLX01MagLev Train

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

APPLICATIONS: Medical

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans produce detailed images of soft tissues.

The superconducting magnet coils produce a large and uniform magnetic field inside the patient's body.

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

APPLICATIONS: Power
The cable configuration features a conductor made from HTS wires wound around a flexible hollow core. Liquid nitrogen flows through the core, cooling the HTS wire to the zero resistance state. The conductor is surrounded by conventional dielectric insulation. The efficiency of this design reduces losses.

Superconducting Transmission Cable From American Superconductor

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

Institute of Materials Science

MMAT 317 Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Materials

CHAPTER 2

Institute of Materials Science