Niobium–tin

Niobium–tin is an <a href="/facts/Intermetallic/nnzksayl">intermetallic</a> compound of <a href="/facts/Niobium/3zNI8AKp">niobium</a> (Nb) and <a href="/facts/Tin/obW9mqc3">tin</a> (Sn), used industrially as a <a href="/facts/Type-II_superconductor/8V4UTGjY">type-II superconductor</a>. This intermetallic compound has a simple structure: <a href="/facts/A15_phases/I199cR4x">A3B</a>. It is more expensive than <a href="/facts/Niobium-titanium/FXMYDvaW">niobium–titanium</a> (NbTi), but remains superconducting up to a <a href="/facts/Magnetic_flux_density/Ta8Ev588">magnetic flux density</a> of 30 <a href="/facts/Tesla_(unit)/K6I5Stn9">teslas</a> [T] (300,000 G), compared to a limit of roughly 15 T for NbTi.
Nb3Sn was discovered to be a superconductor in 1954. The material's ability to support high currents and magnetic fields was discovered in 1961 and started the era of large-scale applications of superconductivity.
The <a href="/facts/Critical_temperature/pkM7RLJK">critical temperature</a> is 18.3 <a href="/facts/Kelvin/E3trzC4C">kelvins</a> (−254.8 °C; −426.7 °F). Application temperatures are commonly around 4.2 K (−268.95 °C; −452.11 °F), the boiling point of <a href="/facts/Liquid_helium/JYXCAcDf">liquid helium</a> at atmospheric pressure.
In April 2008 a record non-copper <a href="/facts/Current_density/IlUKSe2B">current density</a> was claimed of 2,643 A mm−2 at 12 T and 4.2 K.

Niobium–tin open-in-new

Niobium–tin