Superconductors: The Magic and the Mystery

Superconductivity is a magical property of matter, whereby electrons spontaneously enter into a macroscopic quantum dance in which electricity flows perfectly. Bringing superconductivity to room temperature would profoundly transform our technological world. The most promising materials are the copper oxides that remain superconducting halfway to room temperature. But the long-standing mystery of what binds electrons into pairs to form superconductivity has prevented scientists from understanding how this maximal temperature might be raised.

In this lecture, Louis Taillefer will illustrate some of the magic of superconductors, such as helping to image brains in hospitals, whiz subatomic particles around at CERN and levitate trains in Japan. He will also describe some recent advances in research that have shed new light on the mystery: A story of electrons and scientists, featuring very low temperatures, huge magnetic fields, pristine crystals, powerful microscopes, and the quantum world.

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