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| Title | Houstonian 1998 |
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| Place of Creation (TGN) |
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| Date | 1998 |
| Description | This edition of the Houstonian, published in 1998, is the official yearbook of the University of Houston. |
| Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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| Language | English |
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| Original Item Location | LD2281.H745 H6 v. 64 1998 |
| Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b1158762~S11 |
| Digital Collection | Houstonian Yearbook Collection |
| Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/yearb |
| Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
| Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
| Use and Reproduction | This image is in the public domain and may be used freely. If publishing in print, electronically, or on a website, please cite the item using the citation button. |
| File Name | index.cpd |
| Title | Spring |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | yearb1998129.jpg |
| Transcript | Super Technology Zarana Sanghani Japan recently built a train that literally floats on air. The magic behind the train is superconductivity, and research at the University of Houston may develop the technology to make it more cost effective. Superconductors are materials that allow the movement of an electrical current without any resistance, allowing for faster and more powerful transfer of energy. They produce magnetic fields that simultaneously repel all other magnetic fields so that when a magnet is placed on top of the superconductor, the magnet will float. This is how the Japanese train is made to float, Photos courtesy of the "For thP last 10 V6SrS h3VG blowing f°r a faster, frictionless ride. ' There is one hitch: superconductors require very low temperatures. The been WOrking With StUClentS in Japanese train's superconducting O tpr.hnnlncrv must nnprafp, at temni Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston. the lab ... I'm looking forward to (moving back to the lab)." Paul Chu technology must operate at temperatures close to zero degrees Kelvin, the scientific temperature unit. (Zero degrees K is 273 degrees less than zero degrees Celsius.) Maintaining temperatures this low requires the use of expensive substances such as liquid helium. In 1987, UH's Paul Chu made a breakthrough in superconductivity by discovering a material that could operate as a superconductor at 94 degrees K requiring the much more accessible and affordable liquid nitrogen. Texas built the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston soon after Chu's discovery. Since then, Chu has been the center's director, but next year Chu will go back to the lab to work on superconductivity research. "For the last 10 years, I have been working with students in the lab, but as the director I had time constraints and pressure," Chu said. "I'm looking forward to (moving back to the lab)." Though Chu will devote most of his time to the lab, he will remain director emeritus even after a new executive director, to be chosen by a search committee, assumes most of Chu's current responsibilities, said Susan Butler, TCSUH associate director for public affairs. "(Chu) will still be part of the management team as director emeritus," Butler said. "He will be able to devote more of his efforts where they're needed most. That's a real positive thing for us." Conitinued to pg. 172 179 April |