Good news if true, but are there any comprehensive accounts of what actual benefits/applications ambient superconductors would have?
It seems to me the hype is along the lines of 'free electricity', 'levitating trains', 'magnetic space launches', 'climate change solved', etc, etc, but these seem either wrong or unrealistic to me.
Electricity transmission efficiency can improve a little, for some routes. Same for electric motors, but they're already 95%+ efficient in some cases.
Maybe it would be useful for energy storage, maybe not - depends on capabilities and especially cost.
Might be useful for levitating trains if suitable, but even then this would be a relatively minor part of any overall design.
I can see a lot of applications/possibilities in research, and in sensors, and maybe it enables some things that aren't currently possible, but what?.
It's undeniably neat and interesting, but it seems over-hyped; maybe someone can enlighten me? Is there a 'killer app'?
Ideally you build an international power grid. Solar in the Sahara powers Europe but then you loop it around the world and we have 24 hour power from Australia and the Atacama, tied into hydro, nuclear and wind.
Put it in your battery anode and you can charge your car in a few seconds.
Computers won't need cooling and can be way smaller. Quantum computing becomes more practical. AGI is more likely.
Huge implications for Fusion, which then means we can start pulling CO2 from the air since we'll have more power than we need...
It seems to me the hype is along the lines of 'free electricity', 'levitating trains', 'magnetic space launches', 'climate change solved', etc, etc, but these seem either wrong or unrealistic to me.
Electricity transmission efficiency can improve a little, for some routes. Same for electric motors, but they're already 95%+ efficient in some cases.
Maybe it would be useful for energy storage, maybe not - depends on capabilities and especially cost.
Might be useful for levitating trains if suitable, but even then this would be a relatively minor part of any overall design.
I can see a lot of applications/possibilities in research, and in sensors, and maybe it enables some things that aren't currently possible, but what?.
It's undeniably neat and interesting, but it seems over-hyped; maybe someone can enlighten me? Is there a 'killer app'?