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ABSTRACT
Superconductors offer unique functions or substantial gains in domains such as the electric energy, industrial processes, transports, medical applications and physics. Major advances in the traditional and volume performances as well as exceptional yields are likely to be achieved due to much higher current densities in superconductors than in copper and the absence of Joule losses. These components also provide new functions such as the storage of energy in a short-circuited superconducting coil. However the performances of transport current and costs remain insufficient for the development of high critical temperature superconductors. Recent significant advances have nonetheless been observed concerning notably second-generation conductors.
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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Pascal TIXADOR: Professor at Grenoble INP - Grenoble Electrical Engineering Laboratory (G2Elab) - Néel Institute
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Yves BRUNET: Professor at Grenoble INP - Grenoble Electrical Engineering Laboratory (G2Elab) - Néel Institute
INTRODUCTION
When high-temperature superconductors (high T c ) were discovered in 1986, a technical revolution was heralded with great enthusiasm. Superconductivity was to develop rapidly in many fields. The revolution announced did not take place. These materials have turned out to be extremely complex, and low-cost production of high-performance T c superconducting wire remains the major challenge.
Conventional low-temperature superconductors (low T
c
) (NbTi and Nb
3
Sn) remain by far the most widely used: over 95% by volume. Applications for these low-T
c
superconductors mainly concern the fields of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), high-energy physics and controlled thermonuclear fusion. These are covered in
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Superconductors
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Conectus: http://www.conectus.org/
"Consortium of European Companies Determined to Use Superconductivity": consortium of European companies in the field of superconductivity.
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– Alstom Magnets and Superconductors SA (Alstom MSA) http://www.power.alstom.com:80/home/equipment__systems/magnets_superconductors/
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