In 1911, a Dutch physicist named Heinka-Camling Onus was experimenting with ultra-low-temperature metals.

He was measuring the electrical resistance of mercury to find out what would happen.

What he found was shocking, and totally upended everything we

know about physics and electricity. Learn more about superconductivity, how it

works and its applications on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. To understand what super conductivity is,

and a traciprocal value, resistance.

When an electrical current passes through something,

usually a metal, the ease with which it passes through

is called its conductivity. Each substance will have a

different level of connectivity. Silver and copper have very high connectivity which is

why they're often used for electrical wiring or for electrical contacts.

Likewise substances with poor electrical contacts.

Likewise, substances with poor conductivity and high resistance have a use as well.

Incandescent light bulbs work because they provide electrical resistance.

The resistant causes the

filament to get hot and glow. Likewise, the burner of an electrical

stove or an electrical space heater both produce heat from electrical resistance.

So high conductivity is great for things like wires

where you want to transmit electricity and high resistivity is great for other

applications like producing heat. However, even a great conductor like copper doesn't have perfect conductivity.

When you have more of a substance like a very long wire, you'll have more resistance.

This becomes a huge problem for things like long-distance electrical transmission.

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