In superconductivity, does the diameter of the cable affect the current?









up vote
2
down vote

favorite












In the water tank analogy below, the smaller diameter pipe (B2)
will drain tank A slower than the larger diameter pipe (B1)



We are told that resistance has this same effect on current
the bigger the resistance, the smaller the current



We are also told that superconductors have zero resistance



So using the same water analogy, and connecting two superconducting cables of different diameter to batteries holding the same amount of charge,



Would they both drain the batteries at the same speed, having the same current regardless of the cable diameter ?



enter image description here










share|cite|improve this question

























    up vote
    2
    down vote

    favorite












    In the water tank analogy below, the smaller diameter pipe (B2)
    will drain tank A slower than the larger diameter pipe (B1)



    We are told that resistance has this same effect on current
    the bigger the resistance, the smaller the current



    We are also told that superconductors have zero resistance



    So using the same water analogy, and connecting two superconducting cables of different diameter to batteries holding the same amount of charge,



    Would they both drain the batteries at the same speed, having the same current regardless of the cable diameter ?



    enter image description here










    share|cite|improve this question























      up vote
      2
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      2
      down vote

      favorite











      In the water tank analogy below, the smaller diameter pipe (B2)
      will drain tank A slower than the larger diameter pipe (B1)



      We are told that resistance has this same effect on current
      the bigger the resistance, the smaller the current



      We are also told that superconductors have zero resistance



      So using the same water analogy, and connecting two superconducting cables of different diameter to batteries holding the same amount of charge,



      Would they both drain the batteries at the same speed, having the same current regardless of the cable diameter ?



      enter image description here










      share|cite|improve this question













      In the water tank analogy below, the smaller diameter pipe (B2)
      will drain tank A slower than the larger diameter pipe (B1)



      We are told that resistance has this same effect on current
      the bigger the resistance, the smaller the current



      We are also told that superconductors have zero resistance



      So using the same water analogy, and connecting two superconducting cables of different diameter to batteries holding the same amount of charge,



      Would they both drain the batteries at the same speed, having the same current regardless of the cable diameter ?



      enter image description here







      electricity electric-current electrical-resistance superconductivity






      share|cite|improve this question













      share|cite|improve this question











      share|cite|improve this question




      share|cite|improve this question










      asked Nov 10 at 9:23









      physicsnewbie

      23728




      23728




















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          Suppose you replace the water in your tanks with superfluid liquid helium. Now there is no viscous drag so the flow velocity in the pipes is independent of the pipe diameter. This doesn't mean the superfluid flows infinitely fast because the fluid has mass and therefore the flowing fluid has kinetic energy. This kinetic energy has to come from the change in the gravitational potential energy as the fluid flows downwards, so the flow rate is now limited by how much energy gravity supplies.



          If we switch to an electrical circuit the analogy carries over. Since there is no resistance in a superconductor the diameter of the wire makes no difference. But again this doesn't mean the current will be infinite as there are likely to be other factors that limit it.






          share|cite|improve this answer




















          • @Jhon Rennie So if the liquid in the tanks would be replaced with superfluid liquid helium, both of the tanks would fully drain in an almost identical rate , regardless of the diameter of the pipe(B) ?
            – physicsnewbie
            Nov 10 at 11:58






          • 1




            I would say the diameter of the wire does make difference, as the critical current increases with the diameter.
            – akhmeteli
            Nov 10 at 14:05

















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          There is a critical magnetic field for each superconducting material (if the magnetic field is higher than the critical value, superconductivity disappears), therefore, the current in a superconducting wire is limited, as current creates magnetic field, but the critical current increases with the increase of the wire diameter, so a superconducting wire of a larger diameter can conduct a higher current.






          share|cite|improve this answer




















            Your Answer





            StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function ()
            return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function ()
            StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix)
            StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
            );
            );
            , "mathjax-editing");

            StackExchange.ready(function()
            var channelOptions =
            tags: "".split(" "),
            id: "151"
            ;
            initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

            StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
            // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
            if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
            StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
            createEditor();
            );

            else
            createEditor();

            );

            function createEditor()
            StackExchange.prepareEditor(
            heartbeatType: 'answer',
            convertImagesToLinks: false,
            noModals: true,
            showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
            reputationToPostImages: null,
            bindNavPrevention: true,
            postfix: "",
            imageUploader:
            brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
            contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
            allowUrls: true
            ,
            noCode: true, onDemand: true,
            discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
            ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
            );



            );













            draft saved

            draft discarded


















            StackExchange.ready(
            function ()
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f440060%2fin-superconductivity-does-the-diameter-of-the-cable-affect-the-current%23new-answer', 'question_page');

            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown

























            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes








            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes








            up vote
            2
            down vote













            Suppose you replace the water in your tanks with superfluid liquid helium. Now there is no viscous drag so the flow velocity in the pipes is independent of the pipe diameter. This doesn't mean the superfluid flows infinitely fast because the fluid has mass and therefore the flowing fluid has kinetic energy. This kinetic energy has to come from the change in the gravitational potential energy as the fluid flows downwards, so the flow rate is now limited by how much energy gravity supplies.



            If we switch to an electrical circuit the analogy carries over. Since there is no resistance in a superconductor the diameter of the wire makes no difference. But again this doesn't mean the current will be infinite as there are likely to be other factors that limit it.






            share|cite|improve this answer




















            • @Jhon Rennie So if the liquid in the tanks would be replaced with superfluid liquid helium, both of the tanks would fully drain in an almost identical rate , regardless of the diameter of the pipe(B) ?
              – physicsnewbie
              Nov 10 at 11:58






            • 1




              I would say the diameter of the wire does make difference, as the critical current increases with the diameter.
              – akhmeteli
              Nov 10 at 14:05














            up vote
            2
            down vote













            Suppose you replace the water in your tanks with superfluid liquid helium. Now there is no viscous drag so the flow velocity in the pipes is independent of the pipe diameter. This doesn't mean the superfluid flows infinitely fast because the fluid has mass and therefore the flowing fluid has kinetic energy. This kinetic energy has to come from the change in the gravitational potential energy as the fluid flows downwards, so the flow rate is now limited by how much energy gravity supplies.



            If we switch to an electrical circuit the analogy carries over. Since there is no resistance in a superconductor the diameter of the wire makes no difference. But again this doesn't mean the current will be infinite as there are likely to be other factors that limit it.






            share|cite|improve this answer




















            • @Jhon Rennie So if the liquid in the tanks would be replaced with superfluid liquid helium, both of the tanks would fully drain in an almost identical rate , regardless of the diameter of the pipe(B) ?
              – physicsnewbie
              Nov 10 at 11:58






            • 1




              I would say the diameter of the wire does make difference, as the critical current increases with the diameter.
              – akhmeteli
              Nov 10 at 14:05












            up vote
            2
            down vote










            up vote
            2
            down vote









            Suppose you replace the water in your tanks with superfluid liquid helium. Now there is no viscous drag so the flow velocity in the pipes is independent of the pipe diameter. This doesn't mean the superfluid flows infinitely fast because the fluid has mass and therefore the flowing fluid has kinetic energy. This kinetic energy has to come from the change in the gravitational potential energy as the fluid flows downwards, so the flow rate is now limited by how much energy gravity supplies.



            If we switch to an electrical circuit the analogy carries over. Since there is no resistance in a superconductor the diameter of the wire makes no difference. But again this doesn't mean the current will be infinite as there are likely to be other factors that limit it.






            share|cite|improve this answer












            Suppose you replace the water in your tanks with superfluid liquid helium. Now there is no viscous drag so the flow velocity in the pipes is independent of the pipe diameter. This doesn't mean the superfluid flows infinitely fast because the fluid has mass and therefore the flowing fluid has kinetic energy. This kinetic energy has to come from the change in the gravitational potential energy as the fluid flows downwards, so the flow rate is now limited by how much energy gravity supplies.



            If we switch to an electrical circuit the analogy carries over. Since there is no resistance in a superconductor the diameter of the wire makes no difference. But again this doesn't mean the current will be infinite as there are likely to be other factors that limit it.







            share|cite|improve this answer












            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer










            answered Nov 10 at 11:01









            John Rennie

            269k41524775




            269k41524775











            • @Jhon Rennie So if the liquid in the tanks would be replaced with superfluid liquid helium, both of the tanks would fully drain in an almost identical rate , regardless of the diameter of the pipe(B) ?
              – physicsnewbie
              Nov 10 at 11:58






            • 1




              I would say the diameter of the wire does make difference, as the critical current increases with the diameter.
              – akhmeteli
              Nov 10 at 14:05
















            • @Jhon Rennie So if the liquid in the tanks would be replaced with superfluid liquid helium, both of the tanks would fully drain in an almost identical rate , regardless of the diameter of the pipe(B) ?
              – physicsnewbie
              Nov 10 at 11:58






            • 1




              I would say the diameter of the wire does make difference, as the critical current increases with the diameter.
              – akhmeteli
              Nov 10 at 14:05















            @Jhon Rennie So if the liquid in the tanks would be replaced with superfluid liquid helium, both of the tanks would fully drain in an almost identical rate , regardless of the diameter of the pipe(B) ?
            – physicsnewbie
            Nov 10 at 11:58




            @Jhon Rennie So if the liquid in the tanks would be replaced with superfluid liquid helium, both of the tanks would fully drain in an almost identical rate , regardless of the diameter of the pipe(B) ?
            – physicsnewbie
            Nov 10 at 11:58




            1




            1




            I would say the diameter of the wire does make difference, as the critical current increases with the diameter.
            – akhmeteli
            Nov 10 at 14:05




            I would say the diameter of the wire does make difference, as the critical current increases with the diameter.
            – akhmeteli
            Nov 10 at 14:05










            up vote
            2
            down vote













            There is a critical magnetic field for each superconducting material (if the magnetic field is higher than the critical value, superconductivity disappears), therefore, the current in a superconducting wire is limited, as current creates magnetic field, but the critical current increases with the increase of the wire diameter, so a superconducting wire of a larger diameter can conduct a higher current.






            share|cite|improve this answer
























              up vote
              2
              down vote













              There is a critical magnetic field for each superconducting material (if the magnetic field is higher than the critical value, superconductivity disappears), therefore, the current in a superconducting wire is limited, as current creates magnetic field, but the critical current increases with the increase of the wire diameter, so a superconducting wire of a larger diameter can conduct a higher current.






              share|cite|improve this answer






















                up vote
                2
                down vote










                up vote
                2
                down vote









                There is a critical magnetic field for each superconducting material (if the magnetic field is higher than the critical value, superconductivity disappears), therefore, the current in a superconducting wire is limited, as current creates magnetic field, but the critical current increases with the increase of the wire diameter, so a superconducting wire of a larger diameter can conduct a higher current.






                share|cite|improve this answer












                There is a critical magnetic field for each superconducting material (if the magnetic field is higher than the critical value, superconductivity disappears), therefore, the current in a superconducting wire is limited, as current creates magnetic field, but the critical current increases with the increase of the wire diameter, so a superconducting wire of a larger diameter can conduct a higher current.







                share|cite|improve this answer












                share|cite|improve this answer



                share|cite|improve this answer










                answered Nov 10 at 13:11









                akhmeteli

                17.5k21740




                17.5k21740



























                    draft saved

                    draft discarded
















































                    Thanks for contributing an answer to Physics Stack Exchange!


                    • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                    But avoid


                    • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                    • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

                    Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


                    To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                    Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                    Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                    • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                    But avoid


                    • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                    • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

                    To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                    draft saved


                    draft discarded














                    StackExchange.ready(
                    function ()
                    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fphysics.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f440060%2fin-superconductivity-does-the-diameter-of-the-cable-affect-the-current%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                    );

                    Post as a guest















                    Required, but never shown





















































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown

































                    Required, but never shown














                    Required, but never shown












                    Required, but never shown







                    Required, but never shown







                    Popular posts from this blog

                    How to how show current date and time by default on contact form 7 in WordPress without taking input from user in datetimepicker

                    Syphilis

                    Darth Vader #20