Superconducting materials

Superconductivity almost from its beginning has depended upon an interplay between materials research and condensed-matter physics. This interplay continues unabatedly today. The seemingly eternal fascination with the phenomenon of superconductivity lies in the spectacular electrical and magnetic properties exhibited by superconductors—zero resistance, the Meissner effect and the various macroscopic quantum aspects of superconductivity. Equally important to the practitioners of the trade is the fact that these striking electrical and magnetic properties make superconductivity easy to detect. In short, the evidence of superconductivity broadcasts itself, even when present only in trace amounts.