Here we see a sneak peek of a demonstration included in the science shows presented to
#CERNScienceGateway visitors.
In the video, we see a superconducting train advancing on tracks made of magnets. The train contains a disc made from a special ceramic called YBCO. By pouring liquid nitrogen on the disc, we cool it down to almost -196°C. At this temperature, the YBCO disc enters a superconducting state, changing its properties considerably.
This phenomenon is called the flux-pinning effect – the disc gets “stuck” in the tracks’ magnetic field, causing the train to levitate and allowing it to move along the axis of the tracks.
Join us at
#CERNScienceGateway to learn more about how superconductors are used at CERN:
visit.cern/