Superconductivity Discoveries And Discoverers

This book is about the work of 10 great scientists; who they were and are, their personal background and how they achieved their outstanding results and took their prominent place in science history. We follow one of physics and science history's most enigmatic phenomena, superconductivity, through 100 years, from its discovery in 1911 to the present, not as a history book in the usual sense, but through close ups of the leading characters and their role in that story, the Nobel laureates, who were still among us in the years 2001-2004 when the main round of interviews was carried out. Since then two of them already passed away. For each one of the 10 laureates, the author tells their story by direct quotation from interviews in their own words. Each chapter treats one laureate. The author first gives a brief account of the laureates' scientific background and main contribution. Then each laureate tells his own story in his own words. This book is unique in its approach to science history.

Short book on the history and sociology of science surrounding the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity.

Even a hundred years after its discovery, superconductivity continues to bring us new surprises, from superconducting magnets used in MRI to quantum detectors in electronics. 100 Years of Superconductivity presents a comprehensive collection of topics on nearly all the subdisciplines of superconductivity. Tracing the historical developments in supe

ÿ Did you know that Christopher Columbus did not discover America, or that after a Greek scholar found a way of measuring the Earth, it was 1300 years before the rest of the world would believe him? Or that nitrocellulose explosive was discovered when an inventor spilt some chemicals in the kitchen and blew up his wife?s apron? This book by a former career scientist deals with a fascinating range of discoveries over the centuries, related to everything from geology and astronomy to atomic theory, zoology and men who discovered continents. It also gives revealing information about the colourful lives of some of the people whose findings changed the world, and often their own lives, for ever.

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity has resulted in a remarkable growth in the amount of research and the number of researchers working in this exciting field. Superconductivity is not a new phenomenon: in 1991 it will be 80 years old. Even though it was the newer discoveries which motivated us to write this book, the book itself is mainly a description of the fundamentals of the phenomenon. The book is written for a very broad audience, including students, engin eers, teachers, scientists, and others who are interested in learning about this exciting frontier of science. We have focused on the qualitative aspects, so that the reader can develop a basic understanding of the fundamental physics without getting bogged down in the details. Because of this approach, our list of refer ences is not comprehensive, and it is supplemented with a summary of additional reading consisting of monographs and selected review articles. (The articles we have referenced were either not reflected in the review articles on monographs or were milestones in the development of the field. ) In addition, some of the sections which can be skipped during the first reading have been marked with asterisks (*). Until recently, superconductivity was considered to belong to the field of low-temperature physics. This field was born, simultaneously with quantum physics, at the beginning of this century. Initially these two contemporaneous fields developed independently, but they soon became strongly coupled.

There is no temperature below absolute zero, and, in fact, zero itself is impossible to reach. The quest to reach it has lured scientists for several centuries revealing interesting and unexpected phenomena along the way. Atoms move more slowly at low temperatures, but matter at bareLy above absolute zero is not immobile or even necessarily frozen. Among the most peculiar of matter's strange behaviors is superconductivity3/4simply described as electric current without resistance3/4discovered in 1911. With the 1986 discovery that, contrary to previous expectations, superconductivity was possible at temperatures well above absolute zero, research into practical applications has flourished. Superconductivity has turned out to be a fruitful arena for developments in condensed matter physics, which have proved applicable in particle physics and cosmology as well. Cold Wars tells the history of superconductivity, providing perspective on the development of the field and its relationship with the rest of physics and the history of our time. The authors provide a rare look at the scientists and their research, mostly little known beyond a small coterie of specialists. Superconductivity provides an excellent example of the evolution of physics in the twentieth century: the science itself, its epistemological foundations, and its social context. Cold Wars will be of equal interest to students of physics and the history of science and technology, and general readers interested in story behind this remarkable phenomenon.