Superconductivity Revisited

While the macroscopic phenomenon of superconductivity is well known and in practical use worldwide, the current theoretical paradigm for superconductivity suffers from a number of limitations. For example, there is no currently accepted theoretical explanation for the pattern of superconductor critical temperatures in the periodic table. Historical developments in condensed matter were strongly focused on the similarities of all metals and the electron gas model, with little attention paid to their real differences. Accessible by a wide audience, Superconductivity Revisited explores the work of those who investigated the differences, and laid the foundation for all current and future work. Topics Include Pattern of Elemental Superconductors in the Periodic Table High-Temperature Superconductors Electron Spin in Superconductors Heat Capacity and Magnetic Susceptibility in Superconductors Quantum Foundations of Molecular Electricity and Magnetism Metals and Insulators Electron Transport in Metals Magnetoresistance Quantum Hall Effect Type I and Type II Superconductivity Superconductivity Revisited starts from the foundations and shows that the current theory of the subject cannot explain the pattern of superconductors in the periodic table, as the theory depends on a theory of resistivity not congruent with the Sommerfeld equation. Partial wave scattering is introduced as a route to deal with these issues. The book develops a theory of superconductivity that includes the periodic table. The new, coherent, understandable theory of superconductivity is directly based on thermodynamics, scattering theory, and molecular quantum mechanics.

While the macroscopic phenomenon of superconductivity is well known and in practical use worldwide, the current theoretical paradigm for superconductivity suffers from a number of limitations. For example, there is no currently accepted theoretical explanation for the pattern of superconductor critical temperatures in the periodic table. Historical

This volume, From High-Temperature Superconductivity to Microminiature Refrigeration, was compiled as a commemoration to Bill Little's rich scientific career over the past 40 years or more. He has contributed many seminal ideas to such diverse fields of physics as phonon physics at low temperatures, magnetic flux quantization in superconductors, high-temperature superconductivity, neural networks, and microminiature refrigerators. The rrrst section of the book contains a collection of reprints from Bill Little's most important scientific papers. These papers are preceded by an introduction by Bill himself, which gives many insights into the thinking processes that Ie.

Superconductivity: Physics and Applications brings together major developments that have occurred within the field over the past twenty years. Taking a truly modern approach to the subject the authors provide an interesting and accessible introduction. Brings a fresh approach to the physics of superconductivity based both on the well established and convergent picture for most low-Tc superconductors, provided by the BCS theory at the microscopic level, and London and Ginzburg-Landau theories at the phenomenological level, as well as on experiences gathered in high-Tc research in recent years. Includes end of chapter problems and numerous relevant examples Features brief interviews with key researchers in the field A prominent feature of the book is the use of SI units throughout, in contrast to many of the current textbooks on the subject which tend to use cgs units and are considered to be outdated

This book provides the latest research on a new alternative form of technology, the magnetocaloric energy conversion. This area of research concerns magnetic refrigeration and cooling, magnetic heat pumping and magnetic power generation. The book’s systematic approach offers the theoretical basis of magnetocaloric energy conversion and its various sub domains and this is supported with the practical examples. Besides these fundamentals, the book also introduces potential solutions to engineering problems in magnetocalorics and to alternative technologies of solid state energy conversion. The aim of the book is therefore to provide engineers with the most up-to-date information and also to facilitate the understanding, design and construction of future magnetocaloric energy conversion devices. The magnetocaloric energy conversion represents an alternative to compressor based refrigerators and heat pumps. It is a serious alternative to power generation with low enthalpy heat sources. This green technology offers an opportunity to use environmentally friendly solid refrigerants and the potentially high energy efficiency follows the trends of future energy conversion devices. This book is intended for postgraduate students and researchers of refrigeration, heat pumping, power generation alternatives, heat regenerators and advanced heat transfer mechanisms.

This biography provides a stimulating and coherent blend of scientific and personal narratives describing the many achievements of the theoretical physicist Herbert Fröhlich. For more than half a century, Fröhlich was an internationally renowned and much respected figure who exerted a decisive influence, often as a ‘man ahead of his time’, in fields as diverse as meson theory and biology. Although best known for his contributions to the theory of dielectrics and superconductivity, he worked in many other fields, his most important legacy being the pioneering introduction quantum field-theoretical methods into condensed matter physics in 1952, which revolutionised the subsequent development of the subject. Gerard Hyland has written an absorbing and informative account, in which Herbert Fröhlich’s magnetic personality shines through.

This new edition presents a comprehensive, up-to-date survey of the concepts and methods in contemporary condensed matter physics, emphasizing topics that can be treated by quantum mechanical methods. The book features tutorial discussions of a number of current research topics. Also included are updated treatments of topics that have developed significantly within the past several years, such as superconductivity, magnetic impurities in metals, methods for electronic structure calculations, magnetic ordering in insulators and metals, and linear response theory. Advanced level graduate students and practicing condensed matter physicists will use the second edition of Quantum Theory of the Solid State as an important source of information. n Renormalization group theory n Integer and fractional quantum Hall effect n Transport in mesoscopic systems, and n Numerical methods in many-body theory

Introduction to Superconductivity differs from the first edition chiefly in Chapter 11, which has been almost completely rewritten to give a more physically-based picture of the effects arising from the long-range coherence of the electron-waves in superconductors and the operation of quantum interference devices. In this revised second edition, some further modifications have been made to the text and an extra chapter dealing with ""high-temperature"" superconductors has been added. A vast amount of research has been carried out on these since their discovery in 1986 but the results, both theoretical and experimental, have often been contradictory, and seven years later there remains little understanding of their behavior. This book comprises 14 chapters, with the first focusing on zero resistance. Succeeding chapters then discuss perfect diamagnetism; electrodynamics; the critical magnetic field; thermodynamics of the transition; the intermediate state; and transport currents in superconductors. Other chapters cover the superconducting properties of small specimens; the microscopic theory of superconductivity; tunneling and the energy gap; coherence of the electron-pair wave; the mixed state; critical currents of type-II superconductors; and high-temperature superconductors. This book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of superconductivity and solid-state physics.