100 Years of Superconductivity and 50 Years of Superconducting Magnets

This review celebrates the centenary of Kamerlingh Onnes' discovery of superconductivity and also the 50th anniversary of the first conference to discuss superconducting magnets. Our growing understanding of superconductivity and its relationship with magnetic fields is outlined, together with the technical high field superconductors, which first made magnets possible. Engineering problems in utilizing these new materials and the applications which they made possible are described. Just 75 years after Kamerlingh Onnes' discovery, high temperature superconductivity HTS was discovered, opening up a new range of fields and temperatures for magnets. The difficulties of making these new materials into practical magnet conductors are outlined. Some applications of HTS are described and speculations are offered about those areas where it is most likely to succeed in future.