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38 Comments
- deadnoob, on 12/13/2008, -1/+31What do you call the driver of a mag-lev train?
A Super Conductor!
Man I've been waiting so long to use that joke. - frieddonuts, on 12/13/2008, -1/+27Dugg for science on Digg...becoming increasingly rare these days.
- OriginalReplica, on 12/13/2008, -1/+10This will be of great help if we are to ever actually build an electric "supergrid" that allows things like solar farms in Nevada to power homes in Chicago or wind farms in the Rockies to power freight trains hauling farm goods to the coasts.
It would also lead to computers that don't need cooling fans, which would be a nice bonus. - cuoops, on 12/13/2008, -0/+8source - http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2008/6060.html
- inactive, on 12/13/2008, -0/+7the singularity is near comment
Now what should I do? - Vorlindeion, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5One of the major future applications of room temp. superconductors is power transmission lines.
When you allow current to flow through a superconductor, yes it will flow for very, very large amounts of time. However, if you use the superconductor in a power application, the superconductor won't supply endless amounts of energy if you input energy. It merely allows for essentially 100% energy efficiency. You still need to add electrical energy to power devices. What you're talking about is basically perpetual motion, which is beyond the laws of physics. - kukurio, on 12/13/2008, -0/+5You're wrong in so many ways that it makes me sad.
1.) Long distance power transmission is one of the most exciting applications of a potential room temperature superconductor. If we are ever to wean ourselves off of dependence on oil, we're going to need an infrastructure that can, for example, deliver solar power from Arizona to Seattle without incurring massive energy loss.
2.) Current will only flow in a superconducting ring indefinitely because no work is being done by that ring. If you want to power a device that does something useful, you're still going to use up energy. Now, superconductors can still improve your efficiency somewhat, but they do not violate conservation of energy.
3.) Superconductors wouldn't be very helpful for interconnects in computers anyway, because they only superconduct at DC (in other words, their conductivity is only infinite at zero frequency). The clocks in modern computers operate well into the microwave regime.
4.) The train item is referring to the creation of efficient mag-lev trains. Superconductors repel even stationary magnets, so a train could be made to float above the tracks at all speeds, and the cost of a maglev could be dropped substantially. - WindWalker84, on 12/13/2008, -1/+6what about the implications of this superconductor research on antigravity experiments? being able to achieve superconductivity at a cheap cost (high temperature) has always been a hindrance in this valid research field.
perhaps soon we will be able to put these materials in the hands of a lot more people. i think this is important research somehow.
an interesting antigravity video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xnh5Nd4DzM - ninjasquirrel, on 12/13/2008, -0/+4Actually, it does mean exactly that. Waste heat is a result of electrical resistance; superconductors are materials that conduct electricity without resistance.
- WyllyWylly, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3Dugg up for the Rush reference
- OriginalReplica, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3@Discopants
"superconducting semiconductors" is a nonsensical, self contradicting phrase. The superconductors would replace the semiconductors. Chips would not be made from Si, but from a room temperature superconducting material instead. They would generate no heat and would consume far less power.
The heat generated by moving parts comes from friction, not electrical resistance, so yes it would still be there, but I think there is very little heat generated mechanically by a spinning drive. - oxyco, on 12/13/2008, -0/+3I love to hear science progress, it keeps me happy all day through. GJ guys and keep going.
- Vorlindeion, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2What is? The researchers were measuring the properties of the superconductor's normal state near absolute zero, not synthesizing a new material.
- gzmask, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2doesn't even mention they hit a new record temperature. Suspicious.
- DiscoUnderpants, on 12/13/2008, -0/+2Transcend and shrug off your puny humanity. Consider creating a Dyson Sphere in your spare time.
- DiscoUnderpants, on 12/13/2008, -0/+1Not to mention the cost savings in using mag lev trains. Mag lev trains have fewer moving parts and require less maintenance on things like points(points failures on high speed train cause major train accidents). So mag lev trains with cheap super conductors should be faster, safer and cheaper.
- sarcasm, on 12/13/2008, -0/+1Aww you beat me to it.
- LingNoi, on 12/14/2008, -0/+1Meanwhile the university is Huddersfield pisses away £100,000 on carpet for the 5th floor of the computing building. Oh and the original carpet was just fine before you ask.
I really joined the wrong university here, 3 of my lecturers already left due to management issues and a millionaire volunteer who founded Rockstar unvolunteered himself too. Pathetic. - JDiZZle300Z, on 12/14/2008, -0/+1Doesn't super conduction in general kind of disobey the laws of physics?
- Ramble, on 12/13/2008, -0/+1Thanks, quite a lot of that was correct, apart from the whole anti-gravity thing and the alien coverup story.
Nice try though. - slapthemonkey, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1Interesting, but could have been written better
- DiscoUnderpants, on 12/13/2008, -0/+1@ninjasquirrel
So we have superconducting semiconductors now? I guess the waste heat generated by moving parts will also vanish. I did not say that RTS would not provide less waste heat or efficiency in transmission lines. But there is always waste heat. - k3rfuffl3, on 12/13/2008, -0/+1Buried for conspiracy nut
- WindWalker84, on 03/13/2009, -0/+1the video might be a little crazy, but it does inspire... doesn't it..
- ofnature, on 12/13/2008, -0/+0Wow you are so dumb, that you actually gave me a headache..
- DiscoUnderpants, on 12/14/2008, -0/+0@OriginalReplica
I agree with you. And I am aware of such developing technologies as quantum dots and single electron transistors. However we are not close to producing even high end devices to utilise such things. The martial that eventually goes into quantum computing may or may not be related to the discovery of this article. We dont yet know. Also there will still always be heat dissipation. Even a idle(spinning with no head movement) mechanical hard disk generates heat that needs to be accounted for. - mhmdkhamis, on 02/06/2009, -0/+0… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ______
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… … … … … |. . . . . . . . .. . . . |http://hotminiclip.com/ . . . . . . . /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - DiscoUnderpants, on 12/13/2008, -2/+1Computers would still need cooling. CPUs are constructed of slightly impure Si which gets very hot at the rates we clock them. Also just because yyou have super coducting wire does not mean that waste heat problems simply vanish.
- alex82, on 12/13/2008, -2/+1In the article:
"They found that it was as the superconductivity becomes stronger..."
What? Proofread your articles. Unprofessional. - inactive, on 12/13/2008, -3/+1He isn't it new.
- GeorgeStone2, on 12/13/2008, -11/+8Picture looks like an ankle and foot through a thermal vision scope.
- brokenhope, on 12/13/2008, -5/+1I do not think they will be using super conductors to make it easier to transport power very long distances, that seems like the last application for this.
With this technology they can power anything by just giving it an initial shot of energy, and it will flow continuously throughout the circuit without ever stopping or needing more energy. You could power anything and never need to add power to it again. You could then build an extremely powerful super computer that runs on almost no energy.
Things like powering freight trains requires work to be put into it, and a large amount of energy is lost in the work done. I do not think super conductors are going to be able to infinitely power freight trains. - DeadSkinMask, on 12/13/2008, -10/+5Watch his every move...Superconductor...Superconductor...
- YouAreDead, on 12/13/2008, -10/+3wtf
- zibox, on 12/13/2008, -10/+3dugg for University of Bristol
- ztexas, on 12/13/2008, -11/+4Yet another scientific breakthrough story... basic research is important and should be well-funded, but this hardly seems newsworthy. Wake me up when they have developed room-temp superconducting wire.
- inactive, on 12/13/2008, -9/+2This marks the beginning of a new epoch, the likes of which we have never witnessed before.
- Scaryclouds, on 12/13/2008, -10/+2<Insert the singularity is near comment>
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