Advances in superconducting wire and cable for the superconducting supercollider

Researchers in government and industry, working together to design the SSC, have advanced the state of the art of superconducting wire. Improved performance (1600 amps/mm/sup 2/ at 7 tesla) has allowed the SSC Central Design Group to design the accelerator to operate at higher magnetic fields. This makes it possible to shrink the circumference of the SSC from 63 miles to 53 miles, thereby achieving an enormous cost reduction. The author describes the process for fabricating the new wire and cable. His purpose is to convey an appreciation for this advanced materials technology, to explain the recent improvements, and to stimulate thought regarding developments one might need to create magnets from the new high-temperature ceramic superconductors. He explains how one fabricates a cable containing 23 strands of superconducting wire, each 0.0318'' in diameter. Each strand contains 7250 filaments of niobium-titanium (NbTi) embedded in a copper matrix. The diameter of each filament is 6 microns