PHYSICAL REVIEW FOCUS 7 April 2006 http://focus.aps.org/
David Ehrenstein, American Physical Society
Introductions to the Focus stories of the past week;
visit http://focus.aps.org for the complete stories.
MAGNETIC PROTECTION
Superconductors and magnets don't get along. A strong enough
magnetic field destroys superconductivity by disrupting the precisely
coordinated motion of electrons that allows a current to flow without
resistance. In the 31 March PRL, researchers describe how the addition
of a gold nanolayer to a thin superconducting film allows the material
to sustain higher magnetic fields before failing. The results may offer
clues toward designing superconducting wires better able to operate
in the presence of magnetic fields, such as those used in MRI magnets
and particle accelerators. Further studies of the effect may also improve
researchers' understanding of the electron pairing that is at the heart of
superconductivity.
(X.S. Wu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 127002
Link to the paper: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v96/e127002
COMPLETE Focus story at http://focus.aps.org/story/v17/st12
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Copyright 2006, The American Physical Society.
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