Cold numbers: Superconducting supercomputers and presumptive anomaly

TL;DR

This paper examines the historical development of superconducting technology, especially Josephson junctions, within the context of scientific, technological, and business evolution, highlighting the interplay of innovation and policy.

Contribution

It provides a historiographical analysis of superconductors' development using the concept of presumptive anomaly and technological paradigms, revealing their emergence alongside semiconductor advances.

Findings

Superconductors developed during the semiconductor revolution.

Technological and business factors significantly influenced superconductors' progress.

Historical analysis uncovers the interplay between science, technology, and policy.

Abstract

In February 2014 Time magazine announced to the world that the first quantum computer had been put in use. One key component of this computer is the Josephson-junction, a superconducting device, based on completely different scientific and technological principles with respect to semiconductors. The origin of superconductors dates back to the 1960s, to a large-scale 20-year long IBM project aimed at building ultrafast computers. We present a detailed study of the relationship between Science and Technology making use of the theoretical tools of presumptive anomaly and technological paradigms: superconductors were developed whilst the semiconductors revolution was in full swing. We adopt a historiographical approach - using a snowballing technique to sift through the relevant literature from various epistemological domains and technical publications - to extract theoretically robust insights from a narrative which concerns great scientific advancements, technological leaps forward and business-driven innovation. The study we present shows how technological advancements, business dynamics and policy intertwine.