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Summary
This TLP has covered the main aspects of superconductivity:
- The discovery of the superconductive transition at low temperature by Onnes in 1908.
- The properties that define superconductivity – zero resistance and perfect diamagnetism.
- The idea that superconductivity can be explained by a macroscopic quantum state, where electrons move coherently and many can be described by a single wavefunction.
- The London equations which provide a phenomenological model describing the magnetic field penetration within a superconductor.
- The formation of Cooper pairs by the interaction of electrons with lattice vibrations.
- The basics of BCS theory and the creation of an energy gap between filled and unfilled electronic energy levels.
- The difference between type I and type II superconductors with respect to how they interact with external magnetic fields.
- Applications of superconductors and their relevance to everyday life.