Superconductors: "God-like" existence in the field of cable conductors

In the latest issue of the journal Science, a joint research team in the United States has successfully squeezed liquid deuterium (heavy hydrogen) into conductive metallic hydrogen under high pressure. Theorists deduce that metallic hydrogen is a high-temperature superconductor and a high-density and high-energy storage material. It is undeniable that high-temperature superconductors are one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. The zero resistance of superconductors is even more subversive for traditional wires and cables with copper and aluminum as conductors. As more high-temperature superconductors are discovered, it cannot be ruled out that superconducting technology will be applied on a large scale in the cable industry.

The phenomenon of superconductivity is the property that directs the resistance of electrical materials to approach 0 under the thermal motion of the molecules of the object when the temperature is close to absolute zero. "Superconductor" refers to a conductive material that can be transported superconductively. Zero resistance and diamagnetism are two important properties of superconductors.

One of the greatest uses of the zero-resistance property of superconducting materials is for power transmission. Ultra-high voltage transmission has large losses, and the use of superconductors minimizes the losses, so that the power can be delivered to the user almost without loss.

According to statistics, about 15% of the power loss is lost on the transmission line with copper or aluminum wires, and in China alone, the annual power loss is more than 100 billion kWh. If the switch to superconducting transmission is used, the electricity savings are equivalent to the construction of dozens of large power plants.

1911 In the following year, the discovery of superconductivity by Kamaulin-Onnis of Leiden University in the Netherlands caused a worldwide shock. In order to make superconducting materials practical, people began to explore high-temperature superconductivity, from 1911 to the present In 1986, the temperature of superconductivity was raised from 4.2 K to 23.22 K for mercury (absolute zero is codenamed K = -273°C), and soon found signs of superconductivity at 14°C, making a huge breakthrough in high-temperature superconductors.

With the development of superconducting technology, the world's cable giants have also begun the research and development of superconducting cables. South Korea's LS Cable, Japan's Furukawa Electric, Sumitomo Electric, France's Nexans and many other world's largest cable companies have made achievements in superconducting cables, and the commercial operation of superconducting cables is also gradually advancing.

2014 On November 19, South Korea's LS Cable launched the 80KV500MW DC superconducting cable transmission system experimental project. The superconducting cable produced this time is 20% thicker than the general copper cable, but the power transmission is 10%. Fold; In May 2015, the world's first train equipped with superconducting cables was successfully put into trial operation in Japan, and the superconducting cables used in the superconducting cable can transmit electricity at minus 196 degrees Celsius.

In recent years, cable companies have been speaking out about the technological breakthrough of superconducting cables in the media, and superconducting cable projects around the world are also steadily advancing, which indicates that superconducting cables are not far from commercial applications. As more superconductors are discovered, once the life cycle cost of superconducting cables is lower than that of ordinary cables, it cannot be ruled out that superconducting technology will be applied on a large scale in the cable industry.