Ginzburg V.L., Andryushin E.A. Superconductivity

Revised Edition – New Jersey: World Scientific. – 2004. – 104 p. Superconductivity is a physical phenomenon which is customarily described without grudging epithets. Indeed, its nature had remained unclear for many years. To discover the mechanism of this phenomenon, several decades of efforts of many physicists were needed. But even now, after the discovery in 1986 and 1987 of the so-called high-temperature superconductors, superconductivity is still under a veil of mystery ~ some key questions have yet to be answered. But to approach them, we first have to trace the path traversed. We shall tell you what superconductivity is, how it was discovered, what its main properties are, where superconductors are applied now and how they are most likely to be widely used in future. We hope that our book will be the simplest of all popular books devoted to superconductivity in the recent past. At the same time, however, it will be less detailed and the least precise. The reader should not be surprised if in more extensive books, he comes across statements in more precise formulations than those given in our book. We have not always indicated the necessity of such a specification lest the text be overloaded with footnotes and digressions. This book is organized by the canon of increasing complication, from the first discovery over eighty years ago through many years of studies to the latest sensations. The reader may choose topics according to his interests. To have an idea of superconductivity, it suffices to read the chapter on its discovery, and after that one can read chapters on its applications and those describing the superconducting boom. The chapters Physics of Superconductivity and The Nature of Superconductivity will be useful for those who take an interest in physics, which is our greatest desire.To the Reader
Preface to the Revised Edition
The Discovery of Superconductivity
Physics of Superconductivity
The Nature of Superconductivity
Applications of Superconductivity
The Superconducting Boom