Superconducting wire

[MikeMusic]

From New Scientist October 2009 - a while ago

I assume this can be just as easily applied to mains cables and the internal wiring for kit

"Superconducting grid
Up to 10 per cent of all electricity produced is lost
before it even reaches the intended user due to
inefficiencies in the grid. American Superconductor
based in Devens, Massachusetts, has developed a
superconducting wire that cuts transmission line
losses threefold when chilled to -196 " C, ln 2008,
the company supplied the wire for the world's f irst
superconducting transmission line, a 600-metre,
574-megawatt cable in New York state."


So this more viable than previously thought.......

http://www.frozensolid.co.uk/index.php

[Ali Tait]

Errr no don't think so, needs to be kept at that low temp to be that efficient?

[Gazjam]

How do you burn in a cable when its at -196 " C? :lol:

[MikeMusic]

Errr no don't think so, needs to be kept at that low temp to be that efficient?
Can't see keeping 600 metres at that temp as being viable
The main article was about saving energy. That must surely use more energy than it saves.
Hmm. There was nothing else on that

[Ali Tait]

Aye, that's the holy grail, a room temperature supercondutor. Low temp superconductors have been around for years.

[YNWaN]

I remember a speaker cable that actually did use this technology - however a lot of associated gear was needed to produce the super low temperatures needed.

The future for this is graphene.

[MikeMusic]

I remember a speaker cable that actually did use this technology - however a lot of associated gear was needed to produce the super low temperatures needed.

The future for this is graphene.

Ah more upgrading
:)

[guy]

I remember a speaker cable that actually did use this technology - however a lot of associated gear was needed to produce the super low temperatures needed.

The future for this is graphene.

Quite right, only problem will be getting it in long lengths - looks very interesting for microcircuits though.

[trio leo]

This isn't new, cryogenically treated cable is commonly used by various manufacturers these days, however I know it annoys, upsets or baffles some HiFi folks.
Personally, having heard the difference, I openly accept the benefits of having cables cryo'd and most of mine are, I have never heard it make anything sound worse, it makes the background noise less and the presentation sharper IMO and that makes you want to turn it up.

I understand the "electricity in one end, electricity out of the other" logic, and it makes sense, but leccy is funny stuff and maybe we don't understand all yet, I wonder if like de-furring a water pipe makes the water flow better, cryoing a cable allows the leccy to flow better, so leccy in, leccy out yes, but better/different I don't know,
I'm sure there are many who can come up with lots of figures and explanations as to why it is just Foo, I don't care :p if I can hear it and I like it, I buy it.

Ok, I've got my tin hat on. I'm just nipping behind this large rock now.

enjoy your music

regards Al

[MCRU]

From New Scientist October 2009 - a while ago

I assume this can be just as easily applied to mains cables and the internal wiring for kit

"Superconducting grid
Up to 10 per cent of all electricity produced is lost
before it even reaches the intended user due to
inefficiencies in the grid. American Superconductor
based in Devens, Massachusetts, has developed a
superconducting wire that cuts transmission line
losses threefold when chilled to -196 " C, ln 2008,
the company supplied the wire for the world's f irst
superconducting transmission line, a 600-metre,
574-megawatt cable in New York state."


So this more viable than previously thought.......

http://www.frozensolid.co.uk/index.php

You don't need any of that nonsense Mike, trust me when I say that mains cabling has reached its performance limit with a new invention
which is now nearing completion, based on 30 years of my own experiences I will simply say watch the hi-fi press with interest.

[MikeMusic]

This isn't new, cryogenically treated cable is commonly used by various manufacturers these days, however I know it annoys, upsets or baffles some HiFi folks.
Personally, having heard the difference, I openly accept the benefits of having cables cryo'd and most of mine are, I have never heard it make anything sound worse, it makes the background noise less and the presentation sharper IMO and that makes you want to turn it up.
I understand the "electricity in one end, electricity out of the other" logic, and it makes sense, but leccy is funny stuff and maybe we don't understand all yet, I wonder if like de-furring a water pipe makes the water flow better, cryoing a cable allows the leccy to flow better, so leccy in, leccy out yes, but better/different I don't know,
I'm sure there are many who can come up with lots of figures and explanations as to why it is just Foo, I don't care :p if I can hear it and I like it, I buy it.

Ok, I've got my tin hat on. I'm just nipping behind this large rock now.

enjoy your music

regards Al

Thanks Al

I assume putting it in the freezer overnight is not quite the same
:)

[MikeMusic]

You don't need any of that nonsense Mike, trust me when I say that mains cabling has reached its performance limit with a new invention
which is now nearing completion, based on 30 years of my own experiences I will simply say watch the hi-fi press with interest.

If I can hear a difference I'm interested

[trio leo]

I am also fascinated with graphene, I don't know the 1st thing about electricity, (what d'ya mean that's obvious) but I've seen a couple of programmes showing it's electrical property's, I'm sure there's lots more to come.

enjoy your music

regards Al :)

[YNWaN]

This isn't new, cryogenically treated cable is commonly used by various manufacturers these days,

Cryogenically freezing cables is an entirely different thing to a superconductor. Cryogenically treating a cable does not, in any way, make it into a superconductor, that is inherently a different thing altogether.

[Mr. C]

Arh can feel those nano-tubes just waiting to hit the market!

[Mr Kipling]

There was a Horizon item on graphene last which was quite interesting. It's what you end up with when you slice graphite incredibly small. The odd thing is, is that it takes on totally different set of properties becoming super-strong and super-conductive. It mentioned that silica was reaching its limit in its use in computors and would be an obvious replacement. Work on this is being done now. A strange analogy was given wth regards its strength qualities. Some area,(can't remember what) one atom thick, would be strong enough to support a cat (!). It didn't say if it was a thin cat, fat cat or what.

[Reffc]

There was a Horizon item on graphene last which was quite interesting. It's what you end up with when you slice graphite incredibly small. The odd thing is, is that it takes on totally different set of properties becoming super-strong and super-conductive. It mentioned that silica was reaching its limit in its use in computors and would be an obvious replacement. Work on this is being done now. A strange analogy was given wth regards its strength qualities. Some area,(can't remember what) one atom thick, would be strong enough to support a cat (!). It didn't say if it was a thin cat, fat cat or what.

Schrödinger's cat? ;)

[trio leo]

Having read the OP again, I'm not sure if they mean that this 600 metre cable is permanently submerged/covered in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees, (would that make it a superconductor?) or that they supplied a cable that had been subjected to that process (cryoing).

enjoy your music

regards Al

[Ali Tait]

Currently, superconductors only work at cryo temperatures. It's a holy grail to find one that will work at room temperature.

[YNWaN]

As above - cryogenically treating a piece of metal does not, in any way, transform it into a superconductor.

[Ali Tait]

Nope. Might change how it sounds though.

[YNWaN]

and might not...

[Ali Tait]

Aye :-). Lots of peeps say they hear a difference though.

[YNWaN]

When you say lots - how many would you say is a lot? Most audiophile cables are not cryo treated, so I guess most companies feel it is not worth doing...

Relatively, lots of people think they have been visited by aliens... (probably more than have heard cryo treated cables).

[Ali Tait]

Plenty of threads on this on the various fora. If I was bothered enough, I'd buy a couple of sets of the same cable and send one pair to be treated. Not really that bothered though..

I did have an EL34 amp in the past that came with cryo'd Shuguang valves, they sounded very good, even better than a set of NOS RFT's I had in my stash, which was quite a surprise.

[Macca]

There was a Horizon item on graphene last which was quite interesting. It's what you end up with when you slice graphite incredibly small. The odd thing is, is that it takes on totally different set of properties becoming super-strong and super-conductive. It mentioned that silica was reaching its limit in its use in computors and would be an obvious replacement. Work on this is being done now. A strange analogy was given wth regards its strength qualities. Some area,(can't remember what) one atom thick, would be strong enough to support a cat (!). It didn't say if it was a thin cat, fat cat or what.

This was achieved back in the 1990s with the invention of the Buttered Cat Array. Wikipedia explains:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttered_Cat_Array