Liquid nitrogen temperature superconductors

[gapgirl1010]

Hi, I have started Plysics 20 by correspondence and I can't find the answer to this question:

The reason that liquid nitrogen temperature superconductors are important is that liquid nitrogen costs less than liquid helium. New technologies to store liquid helium have been developed in the last year. This has brought the cost of liquid helium down. how might this affect the direction of the field?

PLease help me!

 

[Diane_]

I don't know that I agree with what I see as the implications of the question - the economics of liquid helium is not even close to the whole story - but think about it for a minute. The claim is that the search for liquid nitrogen superconductors has been driven by the high cost of liquid helium. Suppose now that the cost of liquid helium drops - what happens then?

Put it in different terms - I own one Prada bag, largely because I can't justify the expense of more. I own quite a few from other, less expensive designers. What do you suppose I'd do if the cost of Prada dropped suddenly while the quality remained the same?