High-temperature Superconductors: New Method Exploring 'Energy Gap' Shows Electron Pairs Exist Before Superconductivity Sets In
Saturday, November 8, 2008 - 16:08
in Physics & Chemistry
Like astronomers tweaking images to gain a more detailed glimpse of distant stars, physicists have found ways to sharpen images of the energy spectra in high-temperature superconductors -- materials that carry electrical current effortlessly when cooled below a certain temperature. These new imaging methods confirm that the electron pairs needed to carry current emerge above the transition temperature, before superconductivity sets in.