Uses Of Niobium

It was discovered a long time ago that once the temperature is lowered to near absolute zero, the chemical properties of some substances suddenly change and they become "superconductors" with almost no resistance. The temperature at which a substance begins to have this strange "superconducting" property is called the critical temperature. Needless to say, the critical temperature of various substances is different.

It is important to realize that ultra-low temperatures are not easy to obtain, and people pay a huge price for them; the closer we get to absolute zero, the greater the price we have to pay. So our requirement for superconducting substances is, of course, the higher the critical temperature, the better.

There are many elements with superconducting properties, and niobium has one of the highest critical temperatures. The alloy made of niobium has a critical temperature as high as 18.5 to 21 degrees absolute temperature, which is the most important superconducting material at present.