Superconductivity is the amazing characteristic of some materials: when brought down to very low temperature (around -270 C!), their electrical resistivity disappears, enabling them to carry enormous currents without energy dissipation. Superconductor-based cables carry large currents in high magnetic fields, making possible the powerful electromagnets of large particle accelerators, like the 27 km-long Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. In addition, fusion tokamaks for next-generation nuclear plants, with reduced risk and impact, are based on huge superconducting magnets; and a few pilot plants are using superconducting cable lines for power transmission.
However superconductivity is also entering our daily lives. Thousands of hospitals and diagnostic centers around the world use large superconducting magnets for MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Superconductivity is a key vector of technology innovation for these and other cutting-edge applications, despite the challenges posed for industry and institutions by the technical complexity, high cost and risk.
