This proceedings volume reviews the recent developments of superconducting materials for practical applications and critical current characteristics. It contains 18 invited papers and 72 contributed papers. The scope of these papers includes: (1) synthesis and processing of practical materials, (2) properties of high-Tc tapes, coils and bulk materials, (3) critical currents and microstructure, (4) flux dynamics and pinning mechanisms, (5) applications of high-Tc materials, (6) applications of low-Tc superconductors, (7) processing, physical properties and applications of high-Tc thin films.

Applications of superconductivity at the boiling temperature of liquid nitrogen continue to challenge physicists, materials scientists and engineers all over the world eight years after the discovery of high temperature superconductivity. The key to a solution of today's problems lies in the optimization of the defect structure in well-oriented oxide materials as well as in a fundamental understanding of the magnetic microstructures in the mixed state and how they are affected by the crystallographic nature ('dimensionality') of these materials. Fifteen invited overview lectures as well as approximately 150 contributed papers highlight the state of the art in this important field of superconductivity and review our current knowledge of critical currents in superconductors.

This workshop includes about 110 papers describing the flux pinning and related electromagnetic phenomena in superconductors. Various problems are argued on exotic properties of flux lines, flux dynamics, flux pinning mechanisms, critical current density and critical state phenomena in both high- and low-temperature superconductors.

Processing in magnetic fields is a rapidly expanding research area with a wide range of promising applications in materials science, development and design. Numerous research centers dedicated to materials research and processing in magnetic fields have been created around the world. This volume brings together contributions from these centers to review the most recent activities in this field.The papers in this book cover a broad spectrum of research of the effects on magnetic fields in materials processing. The cutting-edge research topics include magnetic levitation of diamagnetic matter and its applications; anisotropy, used for aligning fibers, polymers, and carbon nanotubes; texturing of materials during a phase transition, in both liquid-to-solid and solid-to-solid state transitions; grain boundary migration and mobility changes, giving us a perspective for texture development in metals; and the damping effect of magnetic fields on conductive liquids, which has been exploited for improved crystal growth quality. Of growing interest are the effects of magnetic fields in biology, and their beneficial applications for medical treatments.

The discovery by J. G. Bednorz and K. A. Mtllier in 1986 that the superconducting state can exist in oxides at temperatures above 30 K stimulated research in the field of superconductivity and opened up a new field of research. Within a few years a large number of cuprate superconductors with transition temperatures well above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen have been found. The possibility of using liquid nitrogen as coolant re-stimulated interest in power applications of supercon ductivity. In this book an overview of the known high-Te superconductors and their physical properties is presented. Aspects related to conductor fabrication and high-current applications are emphasised. The material should be suitable for use in graduate level courses on superconductivity. Researchers in the field may profit from the large number of tables and references describing its status at the end of 1997. An introduction to high-To superconductivity must be based on the fundamental physical principles of normal-state electrical conductivity and the well-known characteristics of conventional superconductors. In Chapter 2 this background is provided. Crystal structures, anisotropic properties and general trends of the critical temperatures of the cuprate superconductors are described in Chapters 3 and 4. The processing of superconductor powders addressed in Chapter 5 affects considerably the current-carrying capacity of high-T. wires. In Chapter 6 several fabrication techniques for superconducting wires are described. In addition, the factors limiting the transport critical currents ofhigh-Te wires are discussed.

This Conference is designed to cover the entire field of current-carrying properties of superconductors, either metallic alloys or the new high-Tc metallic oxides. Related topics will be treated as well as the large scale applications. Topics covered include magnetization and flux behaviour, current transport and critical currents, Josephson junctions and proximity effect, microwave absorption and rf surface resistance, thermal conductivity and specific heat, Hall effect and thermoelectric power, thermal fluctuations and paraconductivity, applications of high-Tc materials.

Proceedings of a session at an April 1999 meeting of The American Ceramic Society, reporting on perovskite oxides for electronic, energy conversion, and energy efficiency applications. Papers are in sections on chemistry and synthesis, structure/property relationships in perovskites, and processing