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Ejaz Hussain
[email protected]
+92 313 5112244

Electrical resistance in metals

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY arises because electrons moving

Introduction: through the metal are scattered due

Phenomenon occurring in to deviations from translational
many electrical conductors, in which symmetry. These are produced
the electrons responsible for either by impurities, giving raise to a
conduction undergo a collective temperature independent
transition into an ordered state with contribution to the resistance, or by
many unique and remarkable the vibrations of the lattice in the
properties. These include the metal.
vanishing of resistance to the flow of
electric current, the appearance of a In a superconductor below its
large diamagnetism etc. critical temperature, there is no
Superconductivity was resistance because these scattering
discovered by H. Kamerlingh Onnes mechanisms are unable to impede
in Leiden in 1911 while studying the the motion of the current carriers.
temperature dependence of the As a negatively-charged electron
electrical resistance of mercury moves through the space between
within a few degrees of absolute two rows of positively-charged
zero. He observed that the atoms, it pulls inward on the atoms
resistance dropped sharply to an of the lattice. This distortion attracts
unmeasurably small value at a a second electron to move in behind
temperature of 4.2 K (−452°F). The it. An electron in the lattice can
temperature at which the transition interact with another electron by
occurs is called the transition or exchanging an acoustic quanta
critical temperature, Tc. The called phonon. Phonons in
vanishingly small resistance (very acoustics are analogous to photons
high conductivity) below Tc in electromagnetic. The energy of a
suggested the name given the phonon is usually less than 0.1 eV
phenomenon. (electron-volt) and thus is one or two
orders of magnitude less than that of
Background: a photon. The two electrons form a
weak attraction, travel together in a
pair and encounter less resistance
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overall. In a superconductor, electron superconductor with a transition

pairs are constantly forming, temperature of 100 K (−280°F) could
breaking and reforming, but the be cooled with liquid nitrogen, which
overall effect is that electrons flow boils at 77 K (−321°F) and which is
with little or no resistance. The roughly 500 times less expensive
current is carried then by electrons than liquid helium. Another
moving in pairs called Cooper pairs. advantage of a high-Tc material is
that, since many of the other
The second electron superconducting properties are
encounters less resistance, much proportional to Tc, such a material
like a passenger car following a truck would have enhanced properties.
on the motorway encounters less air Accordingly, many investigators
resistance. began the search for high-Tc
superconductivity almost
Below the critical temperature immediately after Kamerlingh
these superconducting materials Onnes's original discovery. Thus,
have no electrical resistance and so between 1911 and 1986, several
they can carry large amounts of thousand superconducting alloys
electrical current for long periods of and compounds were found. In 1988
time without loosing energy as researchers showed that a bismuth,
ohmic heat. For example, loops of strontium, calcium, copper, and
superconducting wire have been oxygen compound was
shown to carry electrical currents for superconducting below 110 K
several years with no measurable (−262°F), and transition
loss. This property offers temperatures as high as 135 K
tremendous challenges and (−216°F) were found in a mercury,
opportunities in the modern world. thallium, barium, calcium, copper,
and oxygen compound.
Transition
Temperatures: Electrical Resistance:
The temperature at which the It is, of course, not possible to
transition occurs is called the establish that the dc (zero-
transition or critical temperature, Tc. frequency) electrical resistance of a
It was realized from the start superconductor is identically zero,
that practical applications of but a rather stringent upper limit on
superconductivity could become the resistance can be established by
much more widespread if a high- inducing an electrical current in a
temperature superconductor, that is, superconducting loop or coil and
one with a high Tc, could be found. observing whether it dies away in
For instance, the only practical way time. The decay time of such a
to cool superconductors with current in a non super conducting
transition temperatures below 20 K coil at low temperatures is on the
(−424°F) is to use liquid helium, order of 1 s or less. Induced currents
which boils at a temperature of 4.2 K have been observed to persist in
(−452°F) and which is rather superconducting loops for several
expensive. On the other hand, a years. Very precise measurements
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of the magnetic field produced by a energy gained by going from the

persistent current, using nuclear normal to the superconducting
magnetic resonance over shorter phase, the superconductor will
periods of time, have established remain completely superconducting
that the super current decay time is in an applied magnetic field. If the
at least 100,000 years (that is, 1012 applied field becomes too large, the
s). This implies that the resistance in cost in magnetic energy will
the superconducting state is at least outweigh the gain in condensation
1012 times less than in the normal energy, and the superconductor will
state. become partially or totally normal.
The manner in which this occurs
Meissner Effect : depends on the geometry and the
A property of superconducting material of the superconductor. The
materials is the Meissner Effect. It geometry which produces the
was observed that as a magnet is simplest behavior is that of a very
brought near a superconductor, the long cylinder with field applied
magnet encounters a repulsive parallel to its axis. Two distinct types
force. It can be said that the of behavior may then occur,
superconductor completely expels depending on the type of
the magnetic field and behaves as a superconductor.
perfect diamagnet. This property has
implications for making high speed, Type I Superconductors:
magnetically-levitated trains, for Below a critical field Hc
making powerful, small, (Magnetic field correspondent of Tc)
superconducting magnets for which increases as the temperature
magnetic resonance imaging, etc. decreases below Tc, the magnetic
flux is excluded from a type I
Josephson Effect: superconductor, which is said to be
One other property of perfectly diamagnetic. This is
superconductors is that when two of equivalent to saying that the
them are joined by a thin, insulating magnetic field B inside the
layer, it is easier for the electron superconductor is zero. If the applied
pairs to pass from one field is increased above Hc, the
superconductor to another without entire superconductor reverts to the
resistance. This is called normal state and the field penetrates
the Josephson Effect. This effect has completely. The curve of Hc versus
implications for super fast electrical T for any type I superconductor is
switches that can be used to make approximately parabolic: To within a
small, high-speed computers. few percent, Hc = H0[1 − (T/Tc)2],
where H0 is the value of Hc at
absolute zero. All of the known
Types of
elemental superconductors except
Superconductors: niobium are type I.
The exclusion of magnetic flux
by a superconductor costs some
magnetic energy. So long as this
cost is less than the condensation
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superconducting region in which

flows a vortex of persistent super
current which maintains the field in
the core.
In contrast to critical fields in
type I superconductors, which tend
to be less than 0.1 tesla (1000
gauss), Hc2 for type II
superconductors may be tens of
tesla (hundreds of thousands of
gauss). The largest Hc2 values are
found in the ceramic oxide materials
where Hc2 is estimated to be greater
than 700 T (7 × 106 gauss), larger
than can be produced in any
laboratory. Since a zero-resistance
super current can flow in the mixed
state in the superconducting regions
surrounding the fluxoids, a type II
superconductor can carry a lossless
current even in the presence of a
very large magnetic field. Such
superconductors are therefore of
considerable practical importance in
Superconductive state in the
magnetic-field temperature plane. high-field magnets. A type II
superconductor in the mixed state is
not necessarily completely lossless,
however. The presence of an electric
current creates a force on the
Type II fluxoids. They therefore tend to
Superconductors: move. Moving magnetic flux creates
For a type II superconductor, voltages by electromagnetic
there are two critical fields, the lower induction, and the presence of
critical field Hc1 and the upper nonzero voltages together with the
critical field Hc2. In applied fields current implies power dissipation.
less than Hc1, the superconductor This loss mechanism can often be
completely excludes the field, just as suppressed by introducing defects
a type I superconductor does below into the crystal structure of the
Hc. At fields just above Hc1, superconductor which tend to pin
however, flux begins to penetrate the down the fluxoids and prevent them
superconductor, not in a uniform from moving.
way, but as individual, isolated
microscopic filaments called fluxoids Uses:
or vortices. Each fluxoid consists of a Some of the numerous uses
normal core in which the magnetic of superconductivity are as:
field is large, surrounded by a
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1. Magnetic-levitation (MAGLEV) in the mid 1940's. But, the first

is an application where MRI exam on a human being
superconductors perform was not performed until July
extremely well. Transport 3, 1977. And, it took almost
vehicles such as trains can be five hours to produce one
made to "float" on strong image! Today's faster
superconducting magnets, computers process the data in
virtually eliminating friction much less time.
between the train and its 3. Electric generators made with
tracks. Not only would superconducting wire are far
conventional electromagnets more efficient than
waste much of the electrical conventional generators
energy as heat, they would wound with copper wire. In
have to be physically much fact, their efficiency is above
larger than superconducting 99% and their size about half
magnets. In December 2003, that of conventional
the MLX01 test vehicle generators. These facts make
attained an incredible speed them very lucrative ventures
of 361 mph (581 kph)on these for power utilities. General
tracks. The wider use of Electric has estimated the
MAGLEV vehicles has been potential worldwide market for
constrained by political and superconducting generators in
environmental concerns the next decade at around
(strong magnetic fields can $20-30 billion dollars. Late in
create a bio-hazard). 2002 GE Power Systems
2. An area where received $12.3 million in
superconductors can perform funding from the U.S.
a life-saving function is in the Department of Energy to
field of biomagnetism. Doctors move high-temperature
need a non-invasive means of superconducting generator
determining what's going on technology toward full
inside the human body. By commercialization.
impinging a strong 4. An idealized application for
superconductor-derived superconductors is to employ
magnetic field into the body, them in the transmission of
hydrogen atoms that exist in commercial power to cities.
the body's water and fat However, due to the high cost
molecules are forced to and impracticality of cooling
accept energy from the miles of superconducting wire
magnetic field. They then to cryogenic temperatures,
release this energy at a this has only happened with
frequency that can be short "test runs". In May of
detected and displayed 2001 some 150,000 residents
graphically by a computer. of Copenhagen, Denmark,
Magnetic Resonance Imaging began receiving their
(MRI) was actually discovered electricity through HTS (high-
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temperature superconducting)
material. That cable was only
30 meters long, but proved
adequate for testing
purposes.
5. Superconductors have also
found widespread applications
in the military. And,
significantly smaller motors
are being built for U.S. NAVY
ships using superconducting
wire and "tape". In mid-July,
2001, American
Superconductor unveiled a
5000-horsepower motor made
with superconducting wire
(below). An even larger
36.5MW HTS ship propulsion
motor was delivered to the
U.S. Navy in late 2006.