Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields observed in certain materials when cooled below a characteristic temperature. Superconducting materials have potential applications in material science and engineering, such as medical devices and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear electrical power systems and high-speed transportation.
The concept of superconductivity was first discovered by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911. He found that when mercury was cooled to 4 Kelvin, it exhibited zero electrical resistance. In doing so, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913. Since then, researchers have continued to work on the understanding and development of superconducting materials.
Superconductivity is the result of electrons pairing up in a process called Cooper pair. This pair of electrons carries a current without any resistance. This is believed to be caused by the formation of a lattice of Cooper pairs. This lattice is formed when electrons move through the material in a uniform formation by a process called lattice vibration.
This lattice is known as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The BEC allows electrons to effectively pass through the lattice without providing any resistance. As the electrons pass through the lattice, they become part of the Cooper pair, thus increasing the temperature of the material and allowing it to be superconducting.
In order for a material to be superconducting, certain conditions must be met. The material must reach a certain minimum temperature, known as its critical temperature. This temperature is directly related to the interaction between electrons and the lattice. The minimum temperature is also determined by the type of material used and the number of pairs of electrons contained within the material. In addition, the material must have a low percentage of impurities, or errors in the lattice structure, which could cause resistance or reduce the number of Cooper pairs.
The temperature of a superconducting material can also be adjusted by using external factors, such as an applied magnetic field, changing the pressure, or even using light. In this way, researchers can control the critical temperature of a superconducting material and can even design materials with adjustable critical temperatures.
Currently, the highest known transition temperature for superconductivity is about 135 Kelvin for Yttrium- Barium-Copper oxide (YBCO). This is still much lower than the desired range of temperatures for many applications, so researchers are constantly searching for new materials or ways to increase the critical temperature.
In conclusion, superconductivity is an important phenomenon that has many potential applications. A critical temperature must be reached and other factors must be present in order for a material to become superconducting. Currently, the highest transition temperature of a superconducting material is 135 Kelvin, and researchers are constantly searching for new materials or ways to increase the critical temperate.
