> Is there any understanding as to why superconductivity breaks down at higher amperage?
This is a good read [1]
> As long as the induced magnetic field at the edges is less than the critical field, the material remains superconducting, but at higher currents, the field becomes too strong and the superconducting state is lost. This limit on current density has important practical implications in applications of superconducting materials – despite zero resistance they cannot carry unlimited quantities of electric power.
Tl;Dr (and probably wrong) as current flows through any conductor it creates a magnetic field. In superconductors when that magnetic field gets too strong it impedes current from being able to flow. A little like a traffic wave [2]. Everything works fine so long as there's enough space between cars to allow for them to speed up and slow down, but as the density of the cars increases if someone slows down that has a reverberating effect down the chain.
The magnetic field on a superconductor in turn induces a current on the conductor in the opposite direction.
Here's a video discussing some of the implications of this effect in a way that seems counter intuitive :) [3]
This is a good read [1]
> As long as the induced magnetic field at the edges is less than the critical field, the material remains superconducting, but at higher currents, the field becomes too strong and the superconducting state is lost. This limit on current density has important practical implications in applications of superconducting materials – despite zero resistance they cannot carry unlimited quantities of electric power.
Tl;Dr (and probably wrong) as current flows through any conductor it creates a magnetic field. In superconductors when that magnetic field gets too strong it impedes current from being able to flow. A little like a traffic wave [2]. Everything works fine so long as there's enough space between cars to allow for them to speed up and slow down, but as the density of the cars increases if someone slows down that has a reverberating effect down the chain.
The magnetic field on a superconductor in turn induces a current on the conductor in the opposite direction.
Here's a video discussing some of the implications of this effect in a way that seems counter intuitive :) [3]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_field
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_wave
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI_X2cMHNe0