Superconductivity

When conductors lose all of their electrical resistance when cooled to super-low temperatures (near absolute zero, about –273° Celsius), it must be understood that superconductivity is not merely an extrapolation of most conductors’ tendency to gradually lose resistance with decreases in temperature; rather, it is a sudden, quantum leap in resistivity from finite to nothing. A superconducting material has absolutely zero electrical resistance, not just some small amount.

Superconductivity was first discovered by H. Kamerlingh Onnes at the University of Leiden, Netherlands in 1911. Just three years earlier, in 1908, Onnes had developed a method of liquefying helium gas, which provided a medium for which to supercool experimental objects to just a few degrees above absolute zero. Deciding to investigate changes in electrical resistance of mercury when cooled to this low of a temperature, he discovered that its resistance dropped to nothing just below the boiling point of helium.

There is some debate over exactly how and why superconducting materials superconduct. One theory holds that electrons group together and travel in pairs (called Cooper pairs) within a superconductor rather than travel independently, and that has something to do with their frictionless flow. Interestingly enough, another phenomenon of super-cold temperatures, superfluidity, happens with certain liquids (especially liquid helium), resulting in frictionless flow of molecules.

Superconductivity promises extraordinary capabilities for electric circuits. If conductor resistance could be eliminated entirely, there would be no power losses or inefficiencies in electric power systems due to stray resistances. Electric motors could be made almost perfectly (100%) efficient. Components such as capacitors and inductors, whose ideal characteristics are normally spoiled by inherent wire resistances, could be made ideal in a practical sense. Already, some practical superconducting conductors, motors, and capacitors have been developed, but their use at this present time is limited due to the practical problems intrinsic to maintaining super-cold temperatures.

The threshold temperature for a superconductor to switch from normal conduction to superconductivity is called the transition temperature. Transition temperatures for ‘classic’ superconductors are in the cryogenic range (near absolute zero), but much progress has been made in developing ‘high-temperature’ superconductors which superconduct at warmer temperatures. One type is a ceramic mixture of yttrium, barium, copper, and oxygen which transitions at a relatively balmy -160° Celsius. Ideally, a superconductor should be able to operate within the range of ambient temperatures, or at least within the range of inexpensive refrigeration equipment.

The critical temperatures for a few common substances are shown here in this table. Temperatures are given in degrees Kelvin, which has the same incremental span as degrees Celsius (an increase or decrease of 1° Kelvin is the same amount of temperature change as 1° Celsius), only offset so that 0° K is absolute zero. This way, we don’t have to deal with a lot of negative figures.

Material Element/Alloy Critical temp, (degrees K)

Aluminum Element 1.20

Cadmium Element 0.56

Lead Element 7.2

Mercury Element 4.16

Niobium Element 8.70

Thorium Element 1.37

Tin Element 3.72

Titanium Element 0.39

Uranium Element 1.0

Zinc Element 0.91

Niobium/Tin Alloy 18.1

Cupric sulphide --- Compound 1.6

Superconducting materials also interact in interesting ways with magnetic fields. While in the superconducting state, a superconducting material will tend to exclude all magnetic fields, a phenomenon known as the Meissner effect. However, if the magnetic field strength intensifies beyond a critical level, the superconducting material will be rendered non-superconductive. In other words, superconducting materials will lose their superconductivity (no matter how cold you make them) if exposed to too strong of a magnetic field. In fact, the presence of any magnetic field tends to lower the critical temperature of any superconducting material: the more magnetic field present, the colder you have to make the material before it will superconduct.

This is another practical limitation to superconductors in circuit design, since electric current through any conductor produces a magnetic field. Even though a superconducting wire would have zero resistance to oppose current, there will still be a limit of how much current could practically go through that wire due to its critical magnetic field limit.

There are already a few industrial applications of superconductors, especially since the recent (1987) advent of the yttrium-barium-copper-oxygen ceramic, which only requires liquid nitrogen to cool, as opposed to liquid helium. It is even possible to order superconductivity kits from educational suppliers which can be operated in high school labs (liquid nitrogen not included). Typically, these kits exhibit superconductivity by the Meissner effect, suspending a tiny magnet in mid-air over a superconducting disk cooled by a bath of liquid nitrogen.

The zero resistance offered by superconducting circuits leads to unique consequences. In a superconducting short-circuit, it is possible to maintain large currents indefinitely with zero applied voltage!

Relays

A relay is an electrical switch that opens and closes under the control of another electrical circuit. In the common form, the switch is operated by an electromagnet to open or close one or many sets of contacts. It was invented by Joseph Henry in 1835. Because a relay is able to control an output circuit of higher power than the input circuit, it can be considered to be, in a broad sense, a form of an electrical amplifier.

A simple electromagnetic relay is an adaptation of an electromagnet. It consists of a coil of wire (2) surrounding a soft iron core(l), an iron yoke(3), which provides a low reluctance path for magnetic flux, a moveable iron armature (4), spring (6) and a set, or sets, of contacts(5). The armature is hinged to the yoke and mechanically linked to a moving contact or contacts. It is held by a spring so that when the relay is deenergised there is an air gap in the magnetic circuit. In this condition, one of the two sets of contacts is closed, and the other set is open. Other relays may have more or fewer sets of contacts depending on their function.

When an electric current is passed through the coil, the resulting magnetic field attracts the armature, and the consequent movement of the movable contact or contacts either makes or breaks a connection with a fixed contact. If the set of contacts was closed when the relay was deenergised, then the movement opens the contacts and breaks the connection, and vice versa if the contacts were open. When the current to the coil is switched off, the armature is returned by a force, approximately half as strong as the magnetic force, to its relaxed position. Usually this force is provided by a spring, but gravity is also used commonly in industrial motor starters. Most relays are manufactured to operate quickly. In a low voltage application, it is used to reduce noise, in a high voltage or high current application, it is used to reduce arcing.