Years After the Hype, Superconductors Ready to Deliver the Goods

Fourteen years ago, Time's cover story boldly proclaimed superconductors -- materials which lose all resistance to the flow of direct-current electricity and often produce powerful magnetic fields -- were set to change the world. Investors have been keeping a patient vigil ever since.

Finally, it looks like their patience is going to be rewarded. After years of struggling to tame the technology, scientists and engineers have begun to use superconducting materials to achieve performance improvements in high-capacity power cables and coils for motors and generators, and filters and amplifiers for wireless communications base stations. Other developments that can serve as showpiece demonstrations of the technology, like high-speed magnetic-levitation trains, are on the horizon.

We'll take a look at some of the opportunities technically savvy investors are finding in the field, but first, a brief backgrounder on superconductivity.

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