What is a superconducting magnet? How is it different from ordinary magnets?
A. The main difference between superconducting magnets and conventional room temperature electromagnets, is that they use low temperature, zero electrical resistance conductor wire in the magnet winding, instead of room temperature, non-zero electrical resistance conductor. Conventional electromagnets use aluminum or copper conductor, while superconductor magnets use niobium-titanium-copper wire (or other superconductor, depending on application). Also, conventional electromagnets often use iron cores to reduce the current and I2R losses in the conductor winding. Because superconductors have no electrical resistance, very high currents and current densities are practical, resulting in much more powerful electromagnets than are possible with room temperature conductors. While room temperature permanent magnets have no current windings or I2R losses, their inherent physical characteristics limit their magnetic field capabilities to much less than those of superconducting magnets. Superco
