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Superconductivity RSS feed

Superconductivity is the property of certain materials to conduct electricity without energy loss when they are cooled below a critical temperature.

DOE explains...superconductivity

LCLS-II cooldown illustration.

News Feature

Scientists discover that triggering superconductivity with a flash of light involves the same fundamental physics that are at work in the more stable states...

Exposing the material to a magnetic field
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The results cap 15 years of detective work aimed at understanding how these materials transition into a superconducting state where they can conduct electricity...

Conceptual illlustration showing a beam of light entering from the right and hitting a material, ejecting a sphere representing an electron
News Feature

Spawned by the spins of electrons in magnetic materials, these tiny whirlpools behave like independent particles and could be the future of computing. Experiments...

Illustration of skyrmions -- little whirlpools of magnetism formed by the spins of atoms.
News Feature

The chemically controlled chains reveal an ultrastrong attraction between electrons that may help cuprate superconductors carry electrical current with no loss at relatively high...

An illustration showing a 1D chain of carbon and oxygen molecules with red springs representing natural vibrations in their atomic lattice.
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Nickelate materials give scientists an exciting new window into how unconventional superconductors carry electric current with no loss at relatively high temperatures.

Illustration showing nickelate and cuprate superconductors as cartoon characters that are either close friends holding hands or neighbors talking over a fence.
News Feature

Known as “pair-density waves,” it may be key to understanding how superconductivity can exist at relatively high temperatures.

Illustration depicting how two types of waves within superconducting materials intertwine to form a third type known as charge-density waves
Illustration
SLAC and Stanford scientists observed puddles of 2D superconducting behavior emerging from a 3D unconventional superconductor, which conducts electricity with...
Illustration of 2D puddles of superconductivity emerging in a 3D superconductor
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For decades Z-X Shen has ridden a wave of curiosity about the strange behavior of electrons that can levitate magnets.

Portrait of Stanford and SLAC Professor Z-X Shen
News Feature

Theory suggests that quantum critical points may be analogous to black holes as places where all sorts of strange phenomena can exist in a...

Illustration of changes in charge stripes as a superconductor approaches a quantum critical point
News Feature

Q-NEXT will tackle next-generation quantum science challenges through a public-private partnership, ensuring U.S. leadership in an economically crucial arena.

QIS public-private partnership.
News Brief

Discovered at SLAC and Stanford, this new class of unconventional superconductors is starting to give up its secrets – including a surprising 3D metallic...

Graphic showing electronic structure of nickelate superconductor
News Feature

It reveals an abrupt transition in cuprates where particles give up their individuality. The results flip a popular theory on its head.

Illustration of abrupt transition in normal state of a cuprate