A nontrivial factor in determining current distribution in an ac HTS cable-proximity effect

A superconductor has zero resistance at the superconducting state. This unique property creates many exceptional phenomena, of which some are known and the others are not. Our experiments with multilayer high temperature superconductor (HTS) cable samples revealed a new phenomenon that alternating current had a tendency to flow in the inner and outer layers of the cables. We attribute the cause of this phenomenon to the electromagnetic interaction in an infinite electrical conductivity medium and term it “super-proximity-effect“. This effect will greatly affect the performance of a multilayer superconducting cable and other superconducting devices which are involved with alternating current transportation.