Who discovered high-temperature superconductivity in 1986?

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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. — superconductivity Figure 1: Specific heat in the normal (C_en) and superconducting (C_es) states of a classic superconductor as a function of absolute temperature. The two functions are identical at the transition temperature (T_c) and above T_c.

High-temperature superconductivity was discovered in 1986 by the Swiss physicist Karl Alex Müller and his West German associate, J. Georg Bednorz.12

Working at the IBM Zürich Research Laboratory, the pair systematically tested ceramic materials known as oxides. They successfully achieved superconductivity in a barium-lanthanum-copper oxide at a temperature of 35 kelvins, which was significantly higher than the previous record of 23 K held by a niobium-germanium alloy. For this breakthrough, which challenged existing expectations regarding the limits of superconducting transition temperatures, they were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1987.12