Using new technique, scientists uncover a delicate magnetic balance for superconductivity
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - 17:30
in Physics & Chemistry
A new imaging technology is giving scientists unprecedented views of the processes that affect the flow of electrons through materials. By modifying a familiar tool in nanoscience -- the scanning tunneling microscope -- researchers have been able to visualize what happens when they change the electronic structure of a "heavy fermion" compound made of uranium, ruthenium and silicon. What they found sheds light on superconductivity -- the movement of electrons without resistance -- which typically occurs at extremely low temperatures and that researchers hope one day to achieve at something close to room temperature, which would revolutionize electronics.