NEW HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory announced they have developed a flexible superconducting tape that can carry 100 times more current than similar materials. There are two key developments here, says TIME science contributor Leon Jaroff. One is flexibility. Previous materials had been brittle, and snapped easily at the extremely low temperatures necessary for superconductivity. The other key is that the new material conducts electricity with no resistance at the temperature of liquid nitrogen, minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it much cheaper to maintain and use than other superconducting materials that need to be cooled to a much lower temperature. The discovery could lead to commercial applications like more efficient electric motors, better medical equipment and improved electric transmission lines.