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High-Temperature Superconductivity Understood at Last

The Quanta Podcast

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The Secret of High-Temperature Superconductivity

Cooper pairs act like particles of light, any number of which can pile onto the head of a pin. Many Cooper pairs come together and merge into a single quantum mechanical state known as a superfluid. When electrons coupled up, further quantum trickery makes superconductivity unavoidable. BCS theory explained why Mercury and most other metallic elements superconduct when cooled close to absolute zero but stop doing so above a few kelvins.

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