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To: frankw1900 who wrote (2331)	5/21/2001 1:26:03 PM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24758

Hi frankw1900; Re: " If great enough current density is supplied, superconductance will disappear due to the generation of heat (= power). Because at the margin, resistance is NOT zero, and 'ordinary' high temperature rules apply." Engineers have had to work with stuff that has runaway loading problems since the Romans, probably. The solution is to leave enough margin that you don't have a great enough current density to make the superconductor move into the transition region. To argue that superconductors don't work because they fail (even catastrophically) under high enough current is equivalent to saying that bridges don't work because they fail (with loss of life) under high enough loads. Re: "As I said, life in a high current superconducting lab might sometimes be quite exciting." Having worked in labs with high current resistive magnets, I can assure you that life with high power does have its excitement. Some guys in a nuclear submarine accidentally created ball lightening, for instance, by closing a switch. Engineers have been facing this sort of problem for thousands of years. Resistance in copper increases as temperature increases, consequently copper has the same failure mode. The curve is sharper for superconductors, so you stay farther away from it. But these are not at all unique engineering problems. Engineers have faced these problems since the day 5000 years ago when a bow and arrow engineer noticed that when the bow starts to crack the whole thing folds up. The solution hasn't changed in 5000 years, simply give the material enough margin of safety. -- Carl