Superconductors capture the imagination with seemingly magical properties that allow them to carry electricity without losing any energy at all. They are however, extraordinarily difficult materials to work with. In this book, Susannah Speller explores the astonishing variety of
superconducting materials and the rich science behind optimising their performance for use in different applications. Readers will discover how diverse superconducting materials and their applications are, from the metallic alloys used in the Large Hadron Collider to the thin film superconductors
that will be crucial for quantum computers.
This book tells about how even the simplest superconductors have to be carefully designed and engineered on the nanometre scale. Along the way, the reader will be introduced to what materials science is all about and why advanced materials have such widespread importance for technological progress.
With 'Wider View' and 'Under the Lens' sections, Speller provides an accessible and illuminating exploration of superconductors and their place in the modern world.
Author(s): Susannah Speller
Edition: 1
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 240
Tags: Superconductors; Superconducting States; Magnets; NbTi
cover
Titlepage
copyright
dedication
preface
contents
Meet the Family
Basic properties of superconductors
Superconducting materials
Critical parameters
Forms of superconductor
The technological superconductors
Applications of superconductors
Miraculous Magnets
Why are superconductors used for magnets?
How does magnetic resonance imaging work?
Superconducting joints
What else can go wrong?
Chapter summary
Energy Essentials and Superconducting States
Thermodynamics
Phase diagrams
The superconducting transition
Magnetic properties of superconductors
Why is there a critical field?
Heat capacity at the superconducting transition
Type I and type II superconductivity
Chapter summary
Levitation Magic
Flux pinning
Stable levitation
Trapped field magnets
Practical magnetisation methods
Applications of trapped field magnets
Chapter summary
NbTi: The Wonderful Workhorse
The Nb-Ti phase diagram
Choosing the alloy composition
Mechanical properties of metals
Thermomechanical processing of NbTi
Large Hadron Collider wires
Chapter summary
Quirky Quantum Effects
Electrons in metals
Electrons in superconductors
Quantum tunnelling
The weakest link
SQUIDs
Superconducting computers
Chapter summary
Grain Boundaries: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
What are grain boundaries?
The good: flux pinning
The bad: weak links
The ugly: chemical segregation
Chapter summary
Battles with Brittleness
Intermetallic compounds
Brittle fracture
Magnesium diboride superconductor
Niobium-tin
Chapter summary
High Temperature Heroics
The cuprate compounds
Chemical fussiness
The grain boundary problem
The BSCCO buddies
Revolutionary (RE)BCO
Flux creep
Applications of high temperature superconductors
Small scale stuff
Chapter summary
A Super Future?
Room temperature superconductivity
Discovering superconductors
Novel superconductors
Future applications
The `perfect' superconductor
Appendix A Further reading
Appendix B Field decay and joint resistance
Appendix C Derivation of condensation energy
List of Symbols and Abbreviations
References
Index
