SUPERCONDUCTORS:
MgB2 Trades Performance for a Shot at the Real World
Robert F. Service
Magnesium diboride (MgB2) can't match the properties of high-temperature superconductors, but it is far easier to work with, which may prove even more valuable in the end. After just a year of working with this powdery black compound, researchers have already forged it into long wires, a feat some high-temperature superconductors have yet to match (see sidebar). But MgB2 still faces numerous hurdles before anyone makes any money from it as a superconductor.