An Introduction to Superconductivity

The frictionless flow is seen as a loss of electrical resistivity, the material often showing a resistivity that is unmeasurably small. Electrical resistivity is due to the scattering of the conduction electrons by imperfections in the crystal lattice in which they are moving, so one might be tempted to think that in a superconductor these scattering processes are mysteriously turned off. The superconducting state is a new thermodynamic phase of the metal, distinct from the normal phase. The ‘rigidity’ in the wavefunction of the electrons in a superconductor that leads to the Meissner effect must presumably be a result of the ordering process that marks the onset of superconductivity. The form of the heat…