REBCO is a derivative of YBCO which is considered a "2G" HTS conductor. They have designed their magnets for a 20 K operating temperature which will reduce refrigeration costs by maybe a factor of 5 from LTS conductors. Look up the ITER refrigeration system if you want to see something horrifying/impressive. The commonwealth magnets use a "cable" of these tapes for improved stability and protection. Basically all electromagnets want to be circles and so having a non-circular shape requires incredible engineering to properly support the conductor at the high loads that are present. https://superpower-inc.com/spe... In a nutshell, the jump is the fields coupled with the shape are the big milestone here. The thing that worries me about Commonwealth is the cost of the machine and whether it will ever be cost effective.

This is not a hybrid, there is a 32T all superconducting magnet, which I worked on, that made field back in 2017. With the advances in conductor technology in the past 15 years we have moved far away from your 10-20T threshold. This magnet makes a very high field in a non-solenoid shape (HARD) and operates at temperatures the conductors you mentioned are even superconductors. These are NOT hybrid magnets.

We have had 20+T all superconductig systems around for over 15 years and they use Nb3Sn typically. NbTi isnt much use over 9 T. Those magnets though have been solenoids which are FAR easier to build than a toroidal section. Also, yes they are using REBCO and running at an elevated temperature, around 20K, which will make these much cheaper to run than Nb based superconductors. Reduced cooling costs is especially important as the coils will see some neutron heating during operation.

This is a good suggestion as it is similar to how superconducting accelerator magnets are held together. There they use an aluminum stress tube to go around the whole assembly of iron and other magnet bits. Loads there tend to be a bit less around 200 MPa not 230 GPa but the same idea.

And then I read closely and realized that it said 14 milli-tons. Thats only about 28 lbs (14 kg). We are doing a better job at protecting the environment than I thought.

I was logging on to make almost this exact comment. Beat me to it

More information on the topic: https://www.bnl.gov/magnets/st...

A common term in superconductivity is "critical surface." The 3 axis are current, field, and temperature. If you are under the surface, the conductor is superconducting, if above, it is not. If you had say a superconductor that had a critical temperature of 78 K in the field you are running it at, yes its resistance is zero but it wont be able to carry any significant current. What use is that? The point of superconductors is to move a lot of current (DC) with no loss. FYI superconductors do not have 0 impedance when carrying AC.

While HTS conductors are superconducting at 77K (liquid nitrogen) they will always work better the colder they are. That is why the new 32T all superconducting magnet at the NHMFL is submerged in a bath of liquid helium at 4.2K. Additionally, the HTS conductors are pretty expensive at $80 per meter. Apart from some really high field solenoids and other fairly rare magnet applications, there really isnt much of a killer app for HTS conductors. The utilities have been working on very high current density cables in the past but I am not aware of any ongoing programs right now. For reference I will refer to a ReBCO conductor made by a company called Superpower that makes tapes that are 4mm wide and 0.1 mm thick. Keep in mind the actual SC layer is only 0.001 mm thick: No background field and at 4 K you can run well over 1000 A through a tape with no loss At 32 T and 4 K maybe 250 A or higher depending on field angle And at 77K with no background field maybe only 200 A

Actually guys I was joking. I am a solid windows user in a love/hate (more hate) relationship, but I need it for the ecosystem.

Dont need a magic 8 ball to see that one.

We have finally gone back to Hieroglyphics.

Back in the 80s I think I remember seeing giant towers that used light to let people talk from Houston to Dallas in REAL TIME! I think we called them microwaves or are microwaves no longer light? PS I did actually read the article (for once) and didnt see the frequencies that would be used

The best way to get to an Amiga fan boy is to tell them that Atari was first. Everyone has a button

Elon Musk just invented 2-D batteries!!! If we fold the 1 square mile of batteries just right I can hold all of the power needed for the US in my pocket. But why stop there? I know I am being pedantic but I just couldn't help myself.