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superconductivity: Quick Facts

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News •

Unusual quantum states in six-layer graphene offer clues to superconductivity • Oct. 30, 2026, 7:40 AM ET (Phys.org)
Scientists discover a hidden flaw that challenges 40 years of superconductor science • Oct. 24, 2026, 10:20 PM ET (Science Daily)
New superconducting chip aims to help tame fusion plasma • Oct. 22, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (Scientific American)
'Smoking gun' may help solve mystery of high-temperature superconductivity • Oct. 20, 2026, 4:00 PM ET (Phys.org)
New Form of Superconductor Behavior Discovered That We've Never Seen Before • Oct. 18, 2026, 10:02 PM ET (ScienceAlert)

Facts

Also Known As cryogenic conductor • superconductor

Photos

Figure 1: Specific heat in the normal (Cen) and superconducting (Ces) states of a classic superconductor as a function of absolute temperature. The two functions are identical at the transition temperature (Tc) and above Tc.
Figure 2: Magnetization as a function of magnetic field for a type I superconductor and a type II superconductor.
Figure 3: Maximum zero-voltage (Josephson) current passing through a junction by Cooper-pair tunneling as a function of magnetic field.
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Related Topics and References

Topics

Key People

Ivar Giaever, 1966.
Ivar Giaever
Norwegian-born American physicist
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Vitaly Ginzburg
Russian physicist
Josephson, Brian D.
Brian D. Josephson
British physicist
Thouless, David
David Thouless
British-born American physicist
Kamerlingh Onnes
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
Dutch physicist
K. Alex Müller
K. Alex Müller
Swiss physicist
John Michael Kosterlitz, Nobel Prize in Physics winner, stands beside a whiteboard with scientific diagrams and equations.
J. Michael Kosterlitz
British-born American physicist
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Fritz Wolfgang London
American physicist
Abrikosov, Alexey A.
Alexey A. Abrikosov
Russian physicist
Leo Esaki
Leo Esaki
Japanese physicist
Schrieffer, John Robert
John Robert Schrieffer
American physicist
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J. Georg Bednorz
German physicist

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