Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
A superconductor is a material that can conduct electricity without resistance below a certain critical temperature. This property allows it to maintain an electric current with no energy loss.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
Superconductors exhibit zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields (Meissner effect) below their critical temperature.
The critical temperature varies among different superconducting materials, typically ranging from near absolute zero to above 100 K in high-temperature superconductors.
Transition metals such as niobium and compounds like yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) are well-known superconductors.
Superconductivity was first discovered in mercury by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911.
Applications of superconductors include MRI machines, maglev trains, and particle accelerators due to their ability to create strong magnetic fields and carry large currents without loss.
Review Questions
Related terms
Critical Temperature: The temperature below which a material becomes superconducting and exhibits zero electrical resistance.
Meissner Effect: The expulsion of magnetic fields from the interior of a superconductor when it transitions into the superconducting state.
High-Temperature Superconductors: Materials that exhibit superconductivity at temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K), significantly higher than traditional superconductors.