Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In 1987 scientists and engineers were seized with excitement at the discovery of 'high temperature superconductors': these new materials become superconducting at temperatures four times higher than any previously known superconductor. Suddenly all kinds of applications of superconductivity, from magnetically levitated trains to lossless power lines, became possible. As a result of the intense media coverage of these discoveries, superconductivity has become almost a household word, although most people have only a vague idea of what it is. In this book Professor Vidali describes in plain, non-technical terms how conventional superconductivity was discovered 80 years ago, why it took nearly 50 years to understand it, and the physical explanation of why it exists. He chronicles the developments that led up to the discovery of high temperature superconducting materials, and describes the excitement generated by announcements of the new discoveries in 1987 at a scientific conference that became known as the 'Woodstock of physics'. Finally, he speculates on possible future applications of these new materials.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• 1 Introduction and overview
• 2 Physics at Leiden and the liquefaction of helium
• 3 The discovery of superconductivity
• 4 How electrical currents flow
• 5 A breakthrough: the Meissner effect
• 6 Quantum mechanics and superconductivity
• 7 Superconductivity explained
• 8 Superconductivity-based technology
• 9 High temperature superconductivity
• 10 Technological applications of the new materials
• Conclusion

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

During the years 1986 through 1988, dramatic discoveries of materials that exhibit superconductivity at elevated temperatures led to widespread publicity and a number of general-audience books on the subject. Vidali's book exhibits many of the same problems of the earlier works and, despite its recent publication, offers virtually nothing new. The primary difficulty is finding an appropriate level for the presentation. Although Vidali assumes of the reader a high school or introductory college physics background, he devotes too much text to awkward explanations of temperature scales, scientific notation, and other elementary topics. Furthermore, the narrative is frequently disorganized and repetitious; for example, ordinary electrical conduction is discussed long after the concept is used in the text. The distinctive behaviors of fermions and bosons are introduced in a general discussion of quantum mechanics, but the essential link to Cooper pairs and the formation of a macroscopic quantum state is never made clear. The book is nicely illustrated and well edited with relatively few errors; however, these positive features do not outweigh the deficiencies or justify it as a replacement for other books. General.