Superconductors -- Powering Our Future

A maglev train hovers above its track. A doctor uses an MRI scanner to detect disease. Fast digital circuits send superfast, clear signals from one source to another. These technologies are possible thanks to superconductors. Superconductors are materials where electrons can move without any resistance. But today's superconductors don’t work unless they are cooled to well below room temperature. Now researchers are using quantum physics on a quest to find superconductors that will work at room temperature to make them easier to use. There’s been a problem in physics that researchers are trying to solve for years: Can we find something that can superconduct at room temperature? If we find it, it will revolutionize how we transport and use energy. “If you had a room temperature superconductor in your pocket, you then hope there would be some very interesting applications that would come out of this,” said Richard Greene, physics professor at the University of Maryland.