3 ms·

So basically 'more efficient'? I'd dispute the 'dramatically' more efficient power grids, unless that's couched in industry terms - ie a 10% reduction in trans

So basically 'more efficient'? I'd dispute the 'dramatically' more efficient power grids, unless that's couched in industry terms - ie a 10% reduction in transmission losses might be 'dramatic' for energy grid engineers. But not really world-changing, for the rest of us. "Aerospace and Defense: Superconductors could be used in a variety of aerospace and defense applications, such as advanced radar systems, satellite technologies, and even propulsion systems." OK, now we're getting somewhere. What new capabilities?

candiddevmike 3y ago
Think of all the workarounds that we have to use to offset the waste heat and signal degradation of electricity (everywhere, including your computer/phone), and now imagine those things not existing.
- jacknews 3y ago
  This assumes superconducting wires everywhere. I don't really see it happenning in microelectronics for example. You'd have to replace the entire silicon ecosystem with this new material. Not happening soon, probably never. But sure, for specific applications an increase to 'near 100%' efficiency could have important secondary effects, eliminating heat-sinks, etc.
  - bick_nyers 3y ago
    An ultra low power CPU that doesn't generate heat and has a clock frequency of 770GHz is hard to pass on.
DrBazza 3y ago
Shorter, portable, lower energy railguns? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun
api 3y ago
Faster, better, cheaper, and a lot of it.
r2_pilot 3y ago
SQUID sensors would be very feasible, with increased sensitivity. I just learned that extremely directional transceivers would be possible due to some weird quantum effects. Probably propulsion would be affected by higher efficiency motors. So it's a huge deal if it's real.
- jacknews 3y ago
  Yes, I think sensors are the big potential application. Some motors are already 95%+ efficient, so 99% would hardly be a revolution, though reduced cooling would be a benefit.
  - sokka_h2otribe 3y ago
    Actually, going from 96-98% to 99% is still huge. Assume the lower efficiency motor is 100W. You waste 2-4. Presumably you can dissipate that amount of heat. Now, the same form factor can do 200-400W and be ok. So it doesn't change the efficiency of the system (we still use a bunch of wh) but it dramatically changes the form factor of the motor!

candiddevmike 3y ago

Think of all the workarounds that we have to use to offset the waste heat and signal degradation of electricity (everywhere, including your computer/phone), and now imagine those things not existing.

jacknews 3y ago
This assumes superconducting wires everywhere. I don't really see it happenning in microelectronics for example. You'd have to replace the entire silicon ecosystem with this new material. Not happening soon, probably never. But sure, for specific applications an increase to 'near 100%' efficiency could have important secondary effects, eliminating heat-sinks, etc.
- bick_nyers 3y ago
  An ultra low power CPU that doesn't generate heat and has a clock frequency of 770GHz is hard to pass on.

DrBazza 3y ago

Shorter, portable, lower energy railguns? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun

api 3y ago

Faster, better, cheaper, and a lot of it.

r2_pilot 3y ago

SQUID sensors would be very feasible, with increased sensitivity. I just learned that extremely directional transceivers would be possible due to some weird quantum effects. Probably propulsion would be affected by higher efficiency motors. So it's a huge deal if it's real.

jacknews 3y ago
Yes, I think sensors are the big potential application. Some motors are already 95%+ efficient, so 99% would hardly be a revolution, though reduced cooling would be a benefit.
- sokka_h2otribe 3y ago
  Actually, going from 96-98% to 99% is still huge. Assume the lower efficiency motor is 100W. You waste 2-4. Presumably you can dissipate that amount of heat. Now, the same form factor can do 200-400W and be ok. So it doesn't change the efficiency of the system (we still use a bunch of wh) but it dramatically changes the form factor of the motor!