Question

• State the approximate range of temperature at which a conductor tends to be a superconductor.
• Name two materials that behave like superconductors in the range mentioned above.

Answer 1

A conductor tends to become a superconductor at very low temperatures near absolute zero — approximately from 0 K to 10 K (about -273°C to -263°C). At such temperatures, its resistance becomes zero.

Two materials that behave as superconductors in this range are:

• Mercury (superconducting below 4.2 K)
• Lead (superconducting below 7.25 K)

Niobium (superconducting below 9.2 K) is another example.