Superconductivity has many important practical applications, including creating powerful magnets used in high-resolution medical scans, transporting electricity efficiently and building ultrasensitive measuring devices. Until now, understanding exactly what lay behind this unique phenomenon at high temperatures has eluded scientists over many decades.
But research, led by physicists at the University of Bristol and published this week in the journal Nature Physics, has identified the mechanism which explains how electrons in these copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors combine to transmit power with no loss of energy—the 'superconductive' state of infinite electrical conduction.
Study co-lead author Nigel Hussey, professor of physics at the University of Bristol, said, "Superconductivity is a remarkable, almost magical, phenomenon which has long fascinated famous physicists and resulted in various breakthroughs recognized with Nobel Prizes over the decades.
"The processes which facilitate higher-temperature superconductivity, however, have remained a source of mystery and fascination. Through measurements carried out at the European Magnetic Field Laboratory in the Netherlands and subsequent careful analysis, we have found the smoking gun which solves part of the equation and explains what causes this perplexing state."
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