Superconducting wire

Superconducting wire is wire made of superconductors. When cooled below its transition temperature, it has zero electrical resistance. Most commonly, conventional superconductors such as niobium-titanium are used, but high-Tc superconductors such as YBCO are entering the market. Superconducting wire's advantages over copper or aluminum include higher maximum current densities and zero power dissipation. Its disadvantages include the cost of refrigeration of the wires to superconducting temperatures (often requiring cryogens such as liquid helium or liquid nitrogen), the danger of the wire quenching (a sudden loss of superconductivity), the inferior mechanical properties of some superconductors, and the cost of wire materials and construction. Its main application is in superconducting magnets, which are used in scientific and medical equipment where high magnetic fields are necessary.