No material is perfectly conductive. All substances lose some energy when electricity is transmitted through them. Superconductor technology promises to reduce this energy loss to only a tiny fraction of typical losses through common conductors such as wire and impregnated graphite. Superconduction is possible through supercooling of some substances, but the cost of cooling the substance generally minimizes the benefits of superconduction. Since the mid-1980s the race has been on to discover and market a viable superconductive substance able to provide near-zero energy loss at normal atmospheric temperatures. Such substances will have benefits reaching far beyond conservation in the energy industry. The unique properties of superconductors could revolutionize many areas of computing and telecommunications as well.

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