In 1986 two IBM scientists working in a Zurich laboratory made an important new discovery. Working with highly advanced ceramic materials, they discovered a new form of electrical superconductor that no longer required extremely low tempertures but could work in real-world conditions. The commercial implications of this revolutionary breaktrough quickly became apparent. The door was now open for major advances in microchip technology, wires, switches, motors, sensors, bearings, lasers, computers, high-powered magnets and motors, even new forms of transportation. The race to commercialize superconductivity was on.