Perfect Electricity at Low Temperature

Superconductivity is the phenomenon where a material conducts electric current with zero resistance. First discovered in 1911 by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (who cooled mercury to 4 K), it means a current can, in principle, circulate forever without energy loss. In normal metals, electrons scatter off vibrating atoms, wasting about 5–10% of generated electrical power as heat in […]