Low-temperature Superconductors (LTS)

At extremely low temperatures of ca. -269° Celsius (4 Kelvin), several metals, alloys and inorganic compounds lose their electrical resistance, which enables the loss-free transmission of very strong electric currents. This phenomenon of superconductivity was first observed in 1911. Since 1953, LTS have been technologically applied to generate electromagnetic fields far stronger than could be obtained from conventional copper based electromagnets. A first large-scale solution was installed at the European Centre for Particle Physics (CERN) in 1963. Since 1975, LTS have also been used in magnetic resonance imaging scanners, predominantly for medical purposes. The main factor limiting more widespread commercial use of LTS is the considerable technical cooling effort required.