Superconductors face the future

Superconductors face the future: "Among the most promising new materials for future magnets are some of the high-temperature superconductors,” says Sabbi. “Unfortunately they’re very difficult to work with.” One of the most promising of all is the high-temperature superconductor Bi 2212 (bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide)...

But in high-field magnets even high-temperature superconductors will be used at low temperatures. Bi-2212 shows why: although it becomes superconducting at 95 K, its ability to carry high currents and thus generate a high magnetic field increases as the temperature is lowered, typically down to 4.2 K, the boiling point of liquid helium at atmospheric pressure."