U. researchers help develop new method to create superconductors

Rutgers researchers, alongside an international research team, developed a new way to create high-temperature superconductors, according to a Rutgers Today article.

High-temperature superconductors have been interesting to scientists because, when placed in extremely cold temperatures, they have the ability to generate electricity without any loss of energy.

Operating with no energy loss means the superconductors can potentially produce an infinite electrical current, according to the article. Due to the extreme temperatures required for them to function, the conductors are impractical, aside from medical uses and scientific research.

The superconductor created by the research team requires less intense temperatures to function by utilizing a material called cuprate and stacking it in a particular manner to maintain superconductivity, according to the release. 

"We took two cuprate superconductors, materials that already were interesting, and, in placing them together and twisting them in a precise way, made something else that was very interesting: another superconductor which could have lots of technological applications," said Jedediah Pixley, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. 

This new superconductor research may have several uses in technology and quantum computing, according to the release.

"It will be very exciting to extend these experiments to other configurations of superconductors," Pixley said.