Magnetic measurements of superconducting glass-ceramic fine rods in Bi1Ca1Sr1Cu2Al0.5Ox prepared under a temperature gradient

It is shown that the crystallization of the glass precursor under a temperature gradient is very effective for preparing the superconducting glass ceramics in the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O system. The magnetization measurements show that the specimen prepared under a temperature gradient has a magnetization hysteresis several times larger at 4.2 K than that prepared under no temperature gradient; the coupling between superconducting grains of the former is stronger than that of the latter.