Superconductivity: The Next Revolution?

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Superconductivity: The Next Revolution? The discovery of high temperature superconductors in 1987 led to a revolution in the field of science and technology. The discovery of superconductors, their impact on advancement in the field of physics and their usefulness in today’s industry is the main theme of Professor Vidali’s book “Superconductivity: the next revolution? The author has thoroughly described the concept of superconductivity, the discovery of conventional superconductivity, the explanation of its overall technical aspects, its usefulness for the present industry and the future impact of developments made in this field. Interestingly, the book is written in a very simple and easy to understand format and can be read by a general user who has some interest in scientific developments. The year 1987 is marked by the revolutionary discovery of these amazingly high performing superconductors, which eventually grabbed the attention of scientists. These newly discovered superconductors were capable of superconducting at temperatures four times higher than the superconductors which were discovered up to that time. The result of this development resulted in the form of the development of all of the possible forms of superconductivity applications ranging from magnetically levitated trains to resistance free less power cables. Despite of the fact that the actual concept of superconductivity is not very well known among the general public, superconductivity is commonly used word. This popularity of the term superconductivity is primarily because of the intense publicity of its discovery and deep media coverage. In order to clarify the concept of superconductivity among the general public and to introduce the general reader with th...

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...s the MRI) is playing a vital part in medical sciences. The powerful magnetic fields, which are a necessary component for the development of these instruments, are an ideal function of superconductors. In the same way, the particle accelerators that are used in research and development activities of high-energy physics studies are heavily reliant on high-field superconducting magnets. Finally, high temperature superconductors are the most modern developments from scientific research institutions. There is a considerable long history of superconductivity as a specialized field of physics. The swift development in the field of superconductivity leads us to the conclusion that applications of superconductors will soon be developed to a considerable level. References Gianfranco Vidali: Superconductivity: The Next Revolution? Cambridge University Press, 1993

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