Technological applications of superconductivity
Some technological innovations benefiting from the discovery of
superconductivity include sensitive magnetometers based on SQUIDs, digital circuits (including those based on Josephson junctions and rapid single-flux quantum technology),
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, beam-steering magnets in particle accelerators, power cables, and microwave filters (e.g., for mobile phone base stations). Promising future industrial and commercial applications include
transformers,
power storage, motors, and
magnetic levitation devices. Most applications employ the well-understood
conventional superconductors, but it is expected that
high-temperature superconductors will soon become more cost-effective in many cases.