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Ejaz Hussain
Shah.signalian@gmail.com
+92 313 5112244
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
Introduction:
Phenomenon occurring in
many electrical conductors, in which
the electrons responsible for
conduction undergo a collective
transition into an ordered state with
many unique and remarkable
properties. These include the
vanishing of resistance to the flow of
electric current, the appearance of a
large diamagnetism etc.
Superconductivity was
discovered by H. Kamerlingh Onnes
in Leiden in 1911 while studying the
temperature dependence of the
electrical resistance of mercury
within a few degrees of absolute
zero. He observed that the
resistance dropped sharply to an
unmeasurably small value at a
temperature of 4.2 K (−452°F). The
temperature at which the transition
occurs is called the transition or
critical temperature, Tc. The
vanishingly small resistance (very
high conductivity) below Tc
suggested the name given the
phenomenon.
Background:
Electrical resistance in metals
arises because electrons moving
through the metal are scattered due
to deviations from translational
symmetry. These are produced
either by impurities, giving raise to a
temperature independent
contribution to the resistance, or by
the vibrations of the lattice in the
metal.
In a superconductor below its
critical temperature, there is no
resistance because these scattering
mechanisms are unable to impede
the motion of the current carriers.
As a negatively-charged electron
moves through the space between
two rows of positively-charged
atoms, it pulls inward on the atoms
of the lattice. This distortion attracts
a second electron to move in behind
it. An electron in the lattice can
interact with another electron by
exchanging an acoustic quanta
called phonon. Phonons in
acoustics are analogous to photons
in electromagnetic. The energy of a
phonon is usually less than 0.1 eV
(electron-volt) and thus is one or two
orders of magnitude less than that of
a photon. The two electrons form a
weak attraction, travel together in a
pair and encounter less resistance

overall. In a superconductor, electron
pairs are constantly forming,
breaking and reforming, but the
overall effect is that electrons flow
with little or no resistance. The
current is carried then by electrons
moving in pairs called Cooper pairs.
The second electron
encounters less resistance, much
like a passenger car following a truck
on the motorway encounters less air
resistance.
Below the critical temperature
these superconducting materials
have no electrical resistance and so
they can carry large amounts of
electrical current for long periods of
time without loosing energy as
ohmic heat. For example, loops of
superconducting wire have been
shown to carry electrical currents for
several years with no measurable
loss. This property offers
tremendous challenges and
opportunities in the modern world.
Transition
Temperatures:
The temperature at which the
transition occurs is called the
transition or critical temperature, Tc.
It was realized from the start
that practical applications of
superconductivity could become
much more widespread if a high-
temperature superconductor, that is,
one with a high Tc, could be found.
For instance, the only practical way
to cool superconductors with
transition temperatures below 20 K
(−424°F) is to use liquid helium,
which boils at a temperature of 4.2 K
(−452°F) and which is rather
expensive. On the other hand, a
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superconductor with a transition
temperature of 100 K (−280°F) could
be cooled with liquid nitrogen, which
boils at 77 K (−321°F) and which is
roughly 500 times less expensive
than liquid helium. Another
advantage of a high-Tc material is
that, since many of the other
superconducting properties are
proportional to Tc, such a material
would have enhanced properties.
Accordingly, many investigators
began the search for high-Tc
superconductivity almost
immediately after Kamerlingh
Onnes's original discovery. Thus,
between 1911 and 1986, several
thousand superconducting alloys
and compounds were found. In 1988
researchers showed that a bismuth,
strontium, calcium, copper, and
oxygen compound was
superconducting below 110 K
(−262°F), and transition
temperatures as high as 135 K
(−216°F) were found in a mercury,
thallium, barium, calcium, copper,
and oxygen compound.
Electrical Resistance:
It is, of course, not possible to
establish that the dc (zero-
frequency) electrical resistance of a
superconductor is identically zero,
but a rather stringent upper limit on
the resistance can be established by
inducing an electrical current in a
superconducting loop or coil and
observing whether it dies away in
time. The decay time of such a
current in a non super conducting
coil at low temperatures is on the
order of 1 s or less. Induced currents
have been observed to persist in
superconducting loops for several
years. Very precise measurements

of the magnetic field produced by a
persistent current, using nuclear
magnetic resonance over shorter
periods of time, have established
that the super current decay time is
at least 100,000 years (that is, 1012
s). This implies that the resistance in
the superconducting state is at least
1012 times less than in the normal
state.
Meissner Effect :
A property of superconducting
materials is the Meissner Effect. It
was observed that as a magnet is
brought near a superconductor, the
magnet encounters a repulsive
force. It can be said that the
superconductor completely expels
the magnetic field and behaves as a
perfect diamagnet. This property has
implications for making high speed,
magnetically-levitated trains, for
making powerful, small,
superconducting magnets for
magnetic resonance imaging, etc.
Josephson Effect:
One other property of
superconductors is that when two of
them are joined by a thin, insulating
layer, it is easier for the electron
pairs to pass from one
superconductor to another without
resistance. This is called
the Josephson Effect. This effect has
implications for super fast electrical
switches that can be used to make
small, high-speed computers.
Types of
Superconductors:
The exclusion of magnetic flux
by a superconductor costs some
magnetic energy. So long as this
cost is less than the condensation
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energy gained by going from the
normal to the superconducting
phase, the superconductor will
remain completely superconducting
in an applied magnetic field. If the
applied field becomes too large, the
cost in magnetic energy will
outweigh the gain in condensation
energy, and the superconductor will
become partially or totally normal.
The manner in which this occurs
depends on the geometry and the
material of the superconductor. The
geometry which produces the
simplest behavior is that of a very
long cylinder with field applied
parallel to its axis. Two distinct types
of behavior may then occur,
depending on the type of
superconductor.
Type I Superconductors:
Below a critical field Hc
(Magnetic field correspondent of Tc)
which increases as the temperature
decreases below Tc, the magnetic
flux is excluded from a type I
superconductor, which is said to be
perfectly diamagnetic. This is
equivalent to saying that the
magnetic field B inside the
superconductor is zero. If the applied
field is increased above Hc, the
entire superconductor reverts to the
normal state and the field penetrates
completely. The curve of Hc versus
T for any type I superconductor is
approximately parabolic: To within a
few percent, Hc = H0[1 − (T/Tc)2],
where H0 is the value of Hc at
absolute zero. All of the known
elemental superconductors except
niobium are type I.

Superconductive state in the
magnetic-field temperature plane.
Type II
Superconductors:
For a type II superconductor,
there are two critical fields, the lower
critical field Hc1 and the upper
critical field Hc2. In applied fields
less than Hc1, the superconductor
completely excludes the field, just as
a type I superconductor does below
Hc. At fields just above Hc1,
however, flux begins to penetrate the
superconductor, not in a uniform
way, but as individual, isolated
microscopic filaments called fluxoids
or vortices. Each fluxoid consists of a
normal core in which the magnetic
field is large, surrounded by a
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superconducting region in which
flows a vortex of persistent super
current which maintains the field in
the core.
In contrast to critical fields in
type I superconductors, which tend
to be less than 0.1 tesla (1000
gauss), Hc2 for type II
superconductors may be tens of
tesla (hundreds of thousands of
gauss). The largest Hc2 values are
found in the ceramic oxide materials
where Hc2 is estimated to be greater
than 700 T (7 × 106 gauss), larger
than can be produced in any
laboratory. Since a zero-resistance
super current can flow in the mixed
state in the superconducting regions
surrounding the fluxoids, a type II
superconductor can carry a lossless
current even in the presence of a
very large magnetic field. Such
superconductors are therefore of
considerable practical importance in
high-field magnets. A type II
superconductor in the mixed state is
not necessarily completely lossless,
however. The presence of an electric
current creates a force on the
fluxoids. They therefore tend to
move. Moving magnetic flux creates
voltages by electromagnetic
induction, and the presence of
nonzero voltages together with the
current implies power dissipation.
This loss mechanism can often be
suppressed by introducing defects
into the crystal structure of the
superconductor which tend to pin
down the fluxoids and prevent them
from moving.
Uses:
Some of the numerous uses
of superconductivity are as:

1. Magnetic-levitation (MAGLEV)
is an application where
superconductors perform
extremely well. Transport
vehicles such as trains can be
made to "float" on strong
superconducting magnets,
virtually eliminating friction
between the train and its
tracks. Not only would
conventional electromagnets
waste much of the electrical
energy as heat, they would
have to be physically much
larger than superconducting
magnets. In December 2003,
the MLX01 test vehicle
attained an incredible speed
of 361 mph (581 kph)on these
tracks. The wider use of
MAGLEV vehicles has been
constrained by political and
environmental concerns
(strong magnetic fields can
create a bio-hazard).
2. An area where
superconductors can perform
a life-saving function is in the
field of biomagnetism. Doctors
need a non-invasive means of
determining what's going on
inside the human body. By
impinging a strong
superconductor-derived
magnetic field into the body,
hydrogen atoms that exist in
the body's water and fat
molecules are forced to
accept energy from the
magnetic field. They then
release this energy at a
frequency that can be
detected and displayed
graphically by a computer.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI) was actually discovered
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in the mid 1940's. But, the first
MRI exam on a human being
was not performed until July
3, 1977. And, it took almost
five hours to produce one
image! Today's faster
computers process the data in
much less time.
3. Electric generators made with
superconducting wire are far
more efficient than
conventional generators
wound with copper wire. In
fact, their efficiency is above
99% and their size about half
that of conventional
generators. These facts make
them very lucrative ventures
for power utilities. General
Electric has estimated the
potential worldwide market for
superconducting generators in
the next decade at around
$20-30 billion dollars. Late in
2002 GE Power Systems
received $12.3 million in
funding from the U.S.
Department of Energy to
move high-temperature
superconducting generator
technology toward full
commercialization.
4. An idealized application for
superconductors is to employ
them in the transmission of
commercial power to cities.
However, due to the high cost
and impracticality of cooling
miles of superconducting wire
to cryogenic temperatures,
this has only happened with
short "test runs". In May of
2001 some 150,000 residents
of Copenhagen, Denmark,
began receiving their
electricity through HTS (high-
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temperature superconducting)
material. That cable was only
30 meters long, but proved
adequate for testing
purposes.
5. Superconductors have also
found widespread applications
in the military. And,
significantly smaller motors
are being built for U.S. NAVY
ships using superconducting
wire and "tape". In mid-July,
2001, American
Superconductor unveiled a
5000-horsepower motor made
with superconducting wire
(below). An even larger
36.5MW HTS ship propulsion
motor was delivered to the
U.S. Navy in late 2006.