Superconductors

Superconductivity Relies on Different Mechanisms In Iron-based Superconductors

harminka — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:38:57 -0500

Superconductivity appears to rely on very different mechanisms in two varieties of iron-based superconductors. The insight comes from research groups that are making bold statements about the correct description of superconductivity in iron-based compounds in two papers about to be published in journals of the American Physical Society.

Europium Found To Be Superconductor

harminka — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:28:33 -0500

James S. Schilling, Ph.D., professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Mathew Debessai — his doctoral student at the time — discovered that europium becomes superconducting at 1.8 K (-456 °F) and 80 GPa (790,000 atmospheres) of pressure, making it the 53rd known elemental superconductor and the 23rd at high pressure.

Inelastic neutron scattering is sensitive to sign of superconducting gap

harminka — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:37:43 -0600

Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory used inelastic neutron scattering to show that superconductivity in a new family of iron arsenide superconductors cannot be explained by conventional theories.

Investigating new materials with ultracold atoms

harminka — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:17:12 -0600

The investigation of complex materials such as high-temperature superconductors is problematic because of the presence of disorder and many competing interactions in real crystalline materials.

New instrument puts new spin on superconductors

harminka — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:58:20 -0500

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory are part of collaborative team that’s used a brand new instrument at the DOE’s Spallation Neutron Source to probe iron-arsenic compounds, the “hottest” new find in the race to explain and develop superconducting materials.

New technique reveals hidden properties of ultracold atomic gases

harminka — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:52:18 -0500

Physicists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, have demonstrated a powerful new technique that reveals hidden properties of ultracold atomic gases.

Researchers explain odd oxygen bonding under pressure

harminka — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:49:38 -0500

Oxygen, the third most abundant element in the cosmos and essential to life on Earth, changes its forms dramatically under pressure transforming to a solid with spectacular colors. Eventually it becomes metallic and a superconductor.

Superfluid-superconductor relationship is detailed

harminka — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:55:11 -0500

Scientists have studied superconductors and superfluids for decades. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have drawn the first detailed picture of the way a superfluid influences the behavior of a superconductor. In addition to describing previously unknown superconductor behavior, these calculations could change scientists' understanding of the motion of neutron stars.

New Insight on Superconductors

harminka — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:15:16 -0500

An important advance in understanding how the electrons in some materials become superconducting has been made by researchers from UC Davis, the Los Alamos National Laboratory and UC Irvine.

Scientists sneak peek under the veil of superconductivity

harminka — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:06:44 -0500

How does a magnet that cannot transport electricity transform into a superconductor that is a perfect conductor of electricity?

Developing technique to study and develop superconductors

harminka — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 06:21:09 -0500

A team of University of British Columbia researchers has developed a technique that controls the number of electrons on the surface of high-temperature superconductors, a procedure considered impossible for the past two decades.

A supra new kind of froth

harminka — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:15:39 -0500

To see the latest science of type-I superconductors, look no further than the froth on a morning cup of cappuccino. A team of U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory physicists and collaborating students have found that the bubble-like arrangement of magnetic domains in superconducting lead exhibits patterns that are very similar to everyday froths like soap foam or frothed milk on a fancy coffee.