Discovering Superconductivity. An Investigative Approach

Superconductivity is a quantum phenomenon that manifests itself in materials showing zero electrical resistance below a characteristic temperature resulting in the potential for an electric current to run continually through such a material without the need for a power source. Such materials are used extensively in medical and power applications, e.g. MRI and NMR machines. Discovering Superconductivity uses a series of practical and investigative activities, which can be used as tutor demonstrations or as student lab exercises. This highly illustrated text features the following sections: Introduction – including a brief history of superconductivity Superconductivity – an explanation of the phenomenon and its effects Superconducting materials – including High & Low temperature superconductors Applications – how superconductivity is used in medical imaging, at CERN and in the Maglev trains This text will serve as an excellent introduction for students, with or without a physics background, to superconductivity. With a strong practical, experimental emphasis, it provides readers with an overview of the topic preparing them for more advanced texts used in advanced undergraduate and post-graduate courses. PowerPoint files of the figures presented within this text are available at: booksupport.wiley.com A word from the author: «The intention of this text is to introduce the reader to the study of superconductivity via a minds-on approach .... The minds-on approach takes this a stage further by requiring the learner to engage with the process to a greater extent.»