After 15 Years of Research, Scientists Reveal the Fourth Signature of the Superconducting Transition
After 15 Years of Research, Scientists Reveal the Fourth Signature of the Superconducting Transitions
The results cap 15 years of detective work aimed at understanding how these materials transition into a superconducting state where they can conduct electricity with no loss.
Researchers were ecstatic 35 years ago when a novel and exciting new class of superconducting materials was found.
These copper oxides or cuprates, like other superconductors, conducted electricity without resistance or loss when chilled below a specific degree – but at substantially larger temperatures than scientists had expected. This increased the possibility of having them to work at temperatures near to room temperature for perfectly efficient power lines and other uses.
Research quickly confirmed that they demonstrated two additional classic characteristics of the transition to a superconducting state. The material expelled magnetic fields as superconductivity occurred, allowing a magnet placed on a chunk of the material to hover above the surface. And during the transition, their heat capacity – the amount of heat required to raise their temperature by a certain amount – displayed a notable abnormality.
