Language English Pages 588 Originally published 2010 Page count 588 | Publication date 2010 ISBN 978-981-4304-64-1 Publisher World Scientific | |
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Genre Non-fiction; review volume Similar Science and Human E, Theory of Cortical Plasticity, Physics, How We Learn - how We Reme | ||
BCS: 50 Years is a review volume edited by Leon Cooper, a 1972 Nobel Laureate in Physics, and Dmitri Feldman of Brown University, first published in 2010.
Contents
- Background
- Section 1 Historical Perspectives
- Section 2 Fluctuations Tunneling and Disorder
- Section 3 New Superconductors
- Section 4 BCS Beyond Superconductivity
- Reception
- Additional information
- References
The book consists of 23 articles written by outstanding physicists, including many Nobel prize-winners, and presents the complete theory of superconductivity - a phenomenon where the electrical resistance of some metallic materials suddenly vanish at temperatures near absolute zero.
Background
Fifty years ago, in 1957, John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer finally pieced together the puzzle of superconductivity, explaining in detail its mechanism and the associated effects. The BCS theory, named after the three scientists, won Professor Cooper the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972, which he shared with John Robert Schrieffer and his teacher, John Bardeen.
Section 1: Historical Perspectives
The first section of the book describes important discoveries which led to the development of BCS theory.
Section 2: Fluctuations, Tunneling and Disorder
The second section focuses on quantum phenomena which occur in superconductors.
Section 3: New Superconductors
Section three of the book is on various experimental and theoretical methods used to identify new superconducting materials.
Section 4: BCS Beyond Superconductivity
The final section of the book is on the application of BCS theory beyond the field of superconductivity.
Reception
John Swain writing for CERN Courier describes the book as a wonderful review of a powerful unifying concept which covers an enormous range of phenomena. Malcolm Beasley for Physics Today adds that the book will provide any person curious about superconductivity with something to enjoy. In addition, Jermey Matthews, the book editor from Physics Today, had chosen BCS: 50 years as one of the five books to put on your 2011 holiday wish list.
Additional information
13 papers from the book have been published concurrently as a special issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics B.