<i>Colloquium</i>: Room temperature superconductivity: The roles of theory and materials design
Warren E. Pickett
Abstract
Superconductivity, discovered in 1911 and first theoretically understood in 1957, remains a fascinating phenomenon for reasons both fundamental and applied. Reliably calculating the critical temperature of a given material, and even more so predicting it, turned out to be a considerable challenge. This Colloquium explains how theoretical developments have led to increasingly reliable predictions that have culminated in the discovery of the hydride materials that display superconductivity under high pressure at temperatures just shy of room temperature.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsSuperconductivityRoom-temperature superconductorHigh-temperature superconductivityCondensed matter physicsEngineering physicsTheoretical physicsSuperconductivity in MgB2 and AlloysHigh-pressure geophysics and materialsInorganic Chemistry and Materials