(June 22, 2015) Physicists
at UC San Diego have developed a new way to control the transport of electrical
currents through high-temperature superconductors—materials discovered nearly
30 years ago that lose all resistance to electricity at commercially attainable
low temperatures.
Their achievement, detailed in two separate scientific
publications, paves the way for the development of sophisticated electronic
devices capable of allowing scientists or clinicians to non-invasively measure
the tiny magnetic fields in the heart or brain, and improve satellite
communications.
“We believe this new approach will have a significant and
far-reaching impact in medicine, physics, materials science and satellite
communications,” said Robert Dynes, a professor of physics and former Chancellor
of UC San Diego. “It will enable the development of a new generation of
superconducting electronics covering a wide spectrum, ranging from highly
sensitive magnetometers for biomagnetic measurements of the human body to
large-scale arrays for wideband satellite communications. In basic science, it
is hoped it will contribute to the unravelling of the mysteries of
unconventional superconductors and could play a major role in new technologies,
such as quantum information science.”