3 ms·
I wonder if that's going to continue to be the case with MRI machines? Some newer high-temperature superconductors (for instance ReBCO tape) don't need to be k
by elihu 5y ago
I wonder if that's going to continue to be the case with MRI machines? Some newer high-temperature superconductors (for instance ReBCO tape) don't need to be kept quite that cold. Eventually I'd expect machines based on newer materials to replace the old machines, unless there's some compelling reason why the helium-cooled machines are fundamentally better.
(I do agree we should conserve it rather than use it for frivolous purposes.)
- pfdietz 5y agoI suspect the real value proposition from that MIT fusion spinoff is not fusion reactors, but high Tc superconducting magnets for non-fusion applications like MRI (or, perhaps, hybrid electric aircraft). These could be cooled with neon instead of helium, and neon is available forever as a byproduct of air separation plants.