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Silver News
Superconductivity Researchers Win
Nobel Prize - Silver Plays a Prominent Role in Certain Superconductivity Applications
October 14, 2003
(Washington, D.C. - October 14, 2003) Pioneering
contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids
resulted in the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded
last week to Vitaly L. Ginzburg, Alexei A. Abrikosov, and
Anthony Leggett. The Secretary of the Department of Energy,
Spencer Abraham, said of the Nobel Award, "Through their
efforts, tremendous strides are being made in understanding
these processes, leading to the development of new superconducting materials and technologies that have great promise to benefit
the entire world."
The silver industry has had a keen interest
in superconductivity since silver is a key component of superconductive
wire, which operates with no electrical resistance at practical
operating temperatures and provides better performance at
significantly reduced weight and size to cables, motors, generators and transformers.
About 16 years ago, researchers achieved
a breakthrough when several unusual oxides were combined and
proved to be superconductive at relatively low temperatures.
However, they were brittle and unworkable. That was the case
until a solution was developed at the AT&T Bell Laboratories,
which incorporated silver into the mix to combat the earlier
frustrations.
Placing these oxides into practical use generated
worldwide research, and already over 700 patents have been
issued. For example, the patents held by the American Superconductor
Corporation (AMC), Westborough, MA (www.amsuper.com)
have resulted in practical silver-jacketed superconducting
oxide wires that carry more than 140 times the electric load
of copper wire with less than 1 percent of the weight.
With over a decade of development behind
it, AMC recently shipped 18 miles of silver- jacketed, high-temperature
superconductor (HTS) wire to China for new electric-power
projects. According to Greg Yurek, chief executive officer
of American Superconductor, "We have sold samples of
our wire into China and have been working with a number of
companies and government agencies to meet this dynamic new
Chinese industry. We believe this initial order represents
just the beginning of what is ultimately enormous growth potential
for all our products in China." Yurek added, "In
every case we know about, a noble metal, primarily silver,
is put on top of high-temperature superconducting wires."
The Silver Institute has previously reported
that this wire takes about 1,000 ounces of silver per mile.
The Silver Institute is a nonprofit international
industry association headquartered in Washington, D.C. Established
in 1971, the Institute serves as the industry's voice in increasing
public understanding of the value and many uses of silver.
For Further Information Contact:
Mike DiRienzo
The Silver Institute
1200 G Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20005
Tel: (202) 835-0185
Fax: (202) 835-0155
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