Until then, scientists believed it didn't show superconducting properties until minus 418 degrees. While that is much colder than minus 172, a 30-degree improvement is considered to be significant nonetheless. Researcher Sungho Jin and others took the superconductor in a powdered form and encased it in iron-clad tubes. Tests showed that it conducted electricity with about the same ability as a plain sample of magnesium diboride. Two additional reports demonstrate different ways to stabilize the magnetic fields in transmission wires made from the material.
Magnetic fields can reduce the material's superconductivity.
At Imperial College in London, scientists boosted the current by blasting the compound with positively charged hydrogen atoms. It disrupted the material's atomic structure and reduced its magnetic field. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, researchers added a little oxygen to magnesium diboride. As a result, the material carried a stronger current even in the presence of a stronger magnetic field. He also envisions it being used in large computer systems like those used by government agencies for encryption.