Physicists Identify New Form of Superconductivity
US scientists have announced that they've identified and can control a new and extraordinary form of superconductivity. Materials that conduct electricity without any resistance are known as superconductors. Today, superconductors are used in various fields such as health and transportation, and they open the door to innovative technologies like maglev trains traveling at speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour and flying skateboards.
POTENTIAL FOR GROUND-BREAKING ADVANCEMENTS
A team from Emory and Stanford Universities found that a substance can transition into a state called "oscillatory superconductivity" due to a specific mechanism.
In typical superconductors, electrons known as Cooper pairs flow without colliding with any atoms, generating an electric current without losing heat or energy.
In oscillatory superconductivity, however, Cooper pairs move in a wave-like manner. Moreover, these oscillations occur at relatively higher temperatures. Scientists hope that materials exhibiting oscillatory superconductivity could one day operate at room temperature.
THE DREAM OF ROOM-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS
In 1911, Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered that mercury, when cooled to -269 degrees Celsius, conducted electricity without any resistance. He called this state "mercury's superconducting phase."
Since the 1911 discovery, researchers have been trying to develop materials that become superconducting at higher temperatures.
If a material that operates at room temperature as a superconductor is invented one day, superconductors could become much more widely used in everyday life.
Mechanism Behind Oscillation: Van Hove Singularities
The newly revealed oscillatory superconductivity, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Physical Review Letters, holds promise precisely because it can function at higher temperatures.
The research team discovered that this property is enabled by a mechanism called "Van Hove singularities."
Van Hove singularities are unique structures observed in some materials, allowing electrons' energy to undergo unusual changes. This feature significantly influences how materials respond to external forces and conduct electricity.
The team behind the new study demonstrated that oscillatory superconductors can be produced using Van Hove singularities.
According to the findings, these specific structures offer scientists a unique opportunity to initiate or control superconductivity.
Physicist Luiz Santos from Emory University stated, "We found that structures known as Van Hove singularities can generate modulated, oscillatory superconducting states. Our work provides a new theoretical framework to understand the emergence of oscillations, which was previously an incompletely understood phenomenon.
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