http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/6718.html
From the article:
Full oxygenation is essential for the manufacture of reliable ceramic
superconductors. Maximizing oxygen in the [grain boundaries] GB helps
maximize critical current density (Jc), or the maximum current that a
superconductor can carry. In the subatomic world of superconductors,
unrestricted current flow must be the outcome.
"Even in the best superconductors," Schilling noted, "GBs limit their
ability to carry the high electric currents required for applications
in electric power grids or to generate enormous magnetic fields. To
enhance the current carrying capacity, it is essential to bathe the
grain boundaries in as much oxygen as possible. Unfortunately, it is
very difficult to determine how much oxygen is really present in the
GB.
"We have developed a method which allows one to estimate this, called
pressure-induced oxygen relaxation."
--Mike Jr.
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