Super conducting cable has filaments with superconducting cores - and has some filaments without superconducting cores to prevent evolved heat from degrading cable

摘要

The superconducting cable consists of several filaments or strands separated by a non-superconducting metal of high conductivity. Only a certain number of the filaments are made of superconducting material (5); the remainder are made of a metal (8) that is not a superconductor but a good electrical conductor. The filaments containing the superconducting material may be at the centre of the cable and surrounded by filaments with non-superconducting cores, or they may be grouped in other ways. The advantage lies in controlling the heat evolved in the stabilising envelope during transitions so that it does not reach sufficient levels to degrade the cable.