X-Message-Number: 17080 Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 05:29:39 -0400 (EDT) From: Ben Best <> Subject: Liquid Nitrogen Cryopreservation Electrifies Detroit As reported on page 75 of the 14-July-2001 issue of THE ECONOMIST, Detroit Edison is laying 400 metres of superconducting cables that can carry up to ten times as much power as the same thickness of copper. The cables are made of superconducting ceramic that has been powdered, wrapped in silver tubes and maintained at 77 Kelvins with liquid nitrogen. Although this is a pilot project, it has been predicted that within ten years similar cables will make up more than 50% of the underground transmission market. This development may not seem to have much to do with cryonics, but I believe that increasing use of low temperature technology in all areas will benefit cryonics in unexpected ways -- at minimum by making liquid nitrogen more readily available. The more scientists learn about low-temperature technology, the more efficiently cryonicists will be able to store patients and conduct cryobiological research -- due to greater knowledge of supporting technologies and more kinds of equipment. This may be somewhat similar to the way semiconductor research and application may be the driving force eventually leading to a nanotechnology that may eventually repair DNA-damage and freezing-damage. -------------------------------------------- Ben Best () http://www.benbest.com/ Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=17080