Superconductors escape flatland

The fact that the mechanism for the operation of 3-D superconductors is not yet fully understood shows that there is still more to be learned on the quantum level underpinnings of the flow of electric currrent iin at least some situations.

It would be interesting if superconducting 3-D materials could be developed and incorporated into continuous electromagnets that operate at say 300 Telsa.

In the case that such magnets would otherwise mechanically fail due to stresses on the coil windings due to magnetic self interaction, the coils could be enclosed within certain extremely high strength materials, perhaps some form of yet to be developed carbon nanotube materials and the like, a configuration that would support the cable windings against stress induced snapping.

It is also interesting to note that the magnetic energy contained within a differential volumetric region of space is porportional to the square of the field strength. Thus, a cubic meter of space permeated by a 300 Telsa field will have 36 times more magnetic energy contained within than would the same volume of space permeated by a 50 Tesla field. Note that the current maximum continuously running magnetic fields generated by electromagnets are limited to about 50 Tesla in magnetic field research laboratories.

A 300 Tesla range electromagnetic would have novel applications interms of both improvements to existing apparatus and machinery and that of new yet to be deveoped or implemented technologies.

For instance, the development of 300 Tesla range electromagnetics could permit the deploying of highly hypersonic munitions from electromagnetic guns on the land based battlefield, at sea from surface ships, and in space combat systems. Such a technology could have use in ballistic missile defense as well as in defeating hard targets. But the perhaps the more desirable peaceful uses include; electromagnetic guns which could launch probes or material into low Earth orbit from the surface of the Earth, low Earth orbit based systems or systems based on the Moon for which materials, probes, or other objects could be launched into inteplanetary space, and the like.

Synchlotron particle accelerators would greatly benefit from the ability of 300 Tesla superconducting magnets to steer the beam of charged particles thus permitting increased relativistic gamma factors for colliding particles and therefor increased relativistic kinetic collisional energy. This could be a great boone for particle and high energy physics.

Other applications would be better maglev trains, and perhaps electric motors with a much higher mass specific power output provided that effective cooling apparatus for the windings of the moter could be developed and practically employed in such motor design.

All of this could come about with the development of 3-D high temperature superconductors. Putting federal and private money into the development of such materials should not only be a national priority, although not the only one, but a global priority also.