"Today's centers - and most of our energy infrastructure - rely on old-school copper wires, which conduct electricity pretty efficiently. HTS cables, however, can move an electrical current with zero resistance, slashing the amount of energy lost in the process. It also allows for cables that are lighter and more compact. You'll already find HTS in MRI machines, and more recently used in short stretches for power lines in dense metropolitan areas including Paris and Chicago."
"So far, though, their use has been limited in part because HTS cables have been more complicated and expensive to use in energy systems than copper cables. To reach zero resistance, the HTS would need to be cooled to very low temperatures - likely using liquid nitrogen. And the HTS "tape" that forms the basis of superconducting cables is typically made with rare-earth barium copper oxide material."
Microsoft aims to design more efficient data centers using high-temperature superconductors that can carry electricity with zero resistance. HTS cables could reduce energy losses, shrink data center footprints and the transmission lines feeding them, and lessen impacts on nearby communities. HTS is already used in MRI machines and short urban power-line stretches in Paris and Chicago. Adoption faces challenges: HTS cables are currently more complex and costly than copper, require cryogenic cooling (likely liquid nitrogen), and rely on rare-earth barium copper oxide tape. Widespread deployment depends on overcoming cost, cooling, and material supply constraints.
Read at The Verge
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