Futurescience - Superconductors

From 1994 until early 2006, Futurescience, Inc. sold several superconductor kits using the Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide "high temperature" superconducting ceramic material. All these superconductor kits required liquid nitrogen. Futurescience, Inc. no longer exist, and its operations (including the operation of this web site) have been taken over by Futurescience, LLC, a company that was founded in early 2008 by the person who made all of the superconducting disks and rings for Futurescience, Inc.

PLEASE READ THE IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW.

WE CANNOT ACCEPT NEW ORDERS FOR SUPERCONDUCTOR KITS.

This notice has been posted for more than a year, yet we continue to receive new orders that we cannot fill.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: We are not accepting any new orders for superconductor products. We may resume some limited superconductor production in late 2008; but for now, the people here who are knowlegeable about superconductor production are far too busy with other projects. We will still be here to do our best to support those who have purchased Futurescience superconductor products in the past. We hope to be able to provide parts and assistance to our previous customers for a long time, even if we do not resume normal superconductor production. The documentation about our superconductor products will also remain online.

For links to general information about superconductors, please return to the Futurescience home page.

Manuals for these kits that we produced in the past are available by clicking on the designated links below. Although these manuals are copyrighted, permission is granted to print out any reasonable number of copies for use with the kits, or for any classroom or laboratory use within your educational institution.

Model 150 Magnetic Levitation Kit. This basic kit included an yttrium-barium-copper-oxide superconductor mounted on a copper pedestal in an insulated dish. Also included was a rare-earth magnet, plastic forceps and a comprehensive manual.

(Note: In recent years, these kits included the larger 0.5" (12.7 mm.) diameter rare-earth magnet in the Model 150 kits instead of the smaller magnet that we previously used.

(Note: in recent years, these kits include the larger 0.5" (12.7 mm.) diameter rare-earth magnet in the Model 250 kits instead of the smaller magnet that we previously used.)

Note: We have have permanently stopped production of the Model 1000 kit. We will try to supply any necessary spare parts to customers who have purchased this kit in the past.

The Model 1000 Instruction Manual is still on line. This manual includes illustrations and will take a minute or two to load.

Model 500 Resistivity vs. Temperature Kit. This was a relatively new kit designed for those who wish to do only the Resistivity vs. Temperature Measurements. The electronics board is identical to the model 1000 kit above, but the superconductor probe used a superconducting bar rather than a ring. (The magnet, magnet holder probe, and compass are not necessary for resistivity measurements, and were not included.) The superconducting bar is more rugged than the ring; and, therefore, is better for school laboratory use where students are subjecting the superconductor to repeated thermal cycling between room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature. A digital voltmeter and a small DC power supply must be supplied by the user. Note: A printed manual is not included with the special edition Model 500 kit, and is not available. Please download the manual from this web site. An Adobe Acrobat version of this manual, and others, is also available.

The Model 500 Instruction Manual is on line. This manual includes illustrations and will take a minute or two to load unless you have a high-speed connection.

If you are a student or parent interested in using our kits for a school or science fair project, please see our notes about superconductors for school projects.

Note: Be sure to keep the superconducting disks and rings out of the reach of children. The superconducting material can be hazardous if swallowed since stomach acid reacts with the material to form toxic barium chloride.

A satisfactory demonstration of the superconductor magnetic levitation effect requires a rare-earth magnet. Magnets were included in the levitation demonstration kits. A few of these are still available for our former customers. Please inquire by email about these.

There is a separate page about our telephone number, and why it is not included on this web page. (Communication with us is most efficient through email.)