While the superconductor itself carries current without loss, the helium ensures the surrounding structure remains cold and electrically neutral. In helium, the energy gap between these bands is exceptionally wide.
Helium Superfluid Thermal Transport Mechanisms and Electrical Insulator Behavior
It cools superconducting materials to temperatures where they achieve zero electrical resistance. Its status as an electrical insulator is not a limitation but a feature.
Unlike metals where delocalized electrons carry a current, helium’s stable, closed-shell configuration prevents the free movement of charge carriers. Under immense pressure, such as that found in the cores of giant planets, helium is theorized to transition into a metallic state.
Helium Superfluid Thermal Transport Mechanisms and Electrical Insulation in Quantum Systems
For electrical conduction to occur, electrons must move from a filled valence band to an empty conduction band. At room temperature, the thermal energy available is utterly insufficient to excite electrons across this gap.
More About Conductivity of helium
Looking at Conductivity of helium from another angle can help expand the discussion and give readers a second clear paragraph under the same section.
More perspective on Conductivity of helium can make the topic easier to follow by connecting earlier points with a few simple takeaways.
