Superconductors are not just for MRI

Mon 11 May 2015

Institute of Continuing Education

A free public lecture at Madingley Hall by Professor David Cardwell.

The discovery of the so-called High Temperature Superconductors in 1987, which are able to conduct very high electrical currents and hence generate extremely high magnetic fields at liquid nitrogen temperatures, was heralded as the most significant scientific breakthrough since the discovery of the transistor. This talk will describe in a substantially non-mathematical way the properties of these remarkable materials, their manufacture and their potential for engineering applications, which include frictionless bearings, energy storage systems, MRI and high field permanent magnets.

David Cardwell is Professor of Superconducting Engineering and Co-Director of the KACST-Cambridge Research Centre. He is also Head of the Engineering Department. Under Prof. Cardwell's leadership the Bulk Superconductor research group at Cambridge works on the processing and applications of bulk high temperature superconductors, which can be used to generate very high magnetic fields. He has authored over 330 technical papers and patents. Professor Cardwell has been a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College since 1993. He is actively involved in the recruitment of overseas undergraduates for the sciences, and particularly from the Far East.

This talk is part of the Madingley Lecture series of free public talks given by leading authorities in their fields. The lectures take place at Madingley Hall, home of the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (ICE).

Cost: Free