Multifilamentary superconducting materials for large scale applications

The February 1971 edition of this journal carried a ten page article by the author and his colleagues reviewing the then ‘state of the art’ in multifilamentary superconducting composites.¹ At the time we attempted to cover in a fairly comprehensive manner the first decade of development of these materials since the construction of the first high field superconducting magnet.² Now more than another decade of development has passed and obviously the field can no longer be reviewed comprehensively in the same few pages. This article will attempt to give a brief overview of these materials from the point of view of one engaged in their development and supply for large applications. Hopefully, the references to books,^3,4 review articles,^5,6 and the proceedings of the various conferences^7–11 will serve as a source of further information for those who require more details.