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We are endlessly fascinated by the largest, most powerful, or smallest and most infinitesimal of anything. Here we look at two extremes in electric propulsion. The Prodigious American Superconductor produces superconducting wires, and from those, winds a very large motor, that if not the biggest thing to power ships, is the most powerful for its size, and the most powerful to be used in a Navy ship. The company promotes the following benefits for its 36.5 MW (49,000 horsepower) HTS (high temperature superconductor) motor: high power density (compared to traditional copper-wound motors), high partial load efficiency, low noise, harmonic-free voltage, low synchronous reactance, cyclic load insensitivity, and low maintenance. The Petite Lad, living in St. Petersburg, Russia, has constructed the …