Physics World: 100 Years of Superconductivity
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PWApr11cover 21/3/11 13:57 Page 1 physicsworld.com Volume 24 No 4 April 2011 SUPERCONDUCTIVITY THE FIRST 100 YEARS A stator blade in the turbine stage of a jet engine is heated by the combustion gases. To prevent the stator from melting, air is passed through a cooling duct in the blade. Capture the Concept. With COMSOL Multiphysics® you are empowered to build the simulations that accurately replicate the important characteristics of your designs. The key is the ability to include all physical effects that exist in the real world. This multiphysics approach delivers results—tangible results that save precious development time and spark innovation. Watch Tutorial Joule Heating of a Circuit Board Fuse www.comsol.com/showcase © 2011 COMSOL. COMSOL, COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF COMSOL AB. CAPTURE THE CONCEPT IS A TRADEMARK OF COMSOL AB. OTHER PRODUCT OR BRAND NAMES ARE TRADEMARKS OR REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE HOLDERS. PWApr11contents 21/3/11 17:57 Page 1 physicsworld.com Contents: April 2011 Quanta 3 Frontiers 4 Doppler shift reversed ● NIFty breakthrough for fusion ● Periodic table shapes up ● ¿Habla Español o Galego? ● Quantum-dot TV Pasieka/Science Photo Library News & Analysis 7 Nations weigh up nuclear options ● Funding uncertain in US budget stalemate ● MESSENGER arrives in orbit ● Researchers plan experiments on SpaceShipTwo ● NASA’s Glory missions fails ● Mission to Mars takes top priority ● Concerns raised over antenna-site decision ● China revokes top science prize ● Brazil slashes science budget ● India plans to join LIGO-Australia ● Simon van der Meer: 1925–2011 ● ● On the up – high-T materials 33–38 Middle East unrest affects SESAME project Kathleen Amm: magnet pioneer c ● Superconducting cables coming of age? Feedback 16 More on physicists and finance, plus comments from physicsworld.com on Soviet scientists iStockphoto.com/RichVintage Superconductivity Down the path of least resistance 18 Paul Michael Grant describes the key milestones in superconductivity over the last century from its discovery in April 1911 Mystery men – the London brothers 26–29 Fantastic five 23 Check out our top five applications of superconductivity with the biggest impact on society today Supercon Inc. The forgotten brothers 26 Stephen Blundell highlights the achievements of Fritz and Heinz London in pioneering our understanding of how superconductors behave Superconductivity timeline 30 Relive the discoveries, breakthroughs and Nobel prizes Resistance is futile 33 Ted Forgan examines where we are now with high-temperature superconductivity, 25 years after its discovery Wired – superconductivity for society 23–25 Taming serendipity 41 Laura H Greene calls for a worldwide collaboration in the search for a new class of superconductors On the cover Superconductivity (David Parker/IMI/ Reviews 44 ● University of Birmingham High Tc Consortium/ The unseen universe Stephen Hawking’s views on M-theory Science Photo Library) 17–43 ● Web life: STAR-LITE Careers 50 Physics World is published monthly as 12 issues per annual ● volume by IOP Publishing Ltd, Dirac House, Temple Back, A super(conducting) career Joe Brown Once a physicist: Rob Cook Bristol BS1 6BE, UK United States Postal Identification Statement Recruitment 53 Physics World (ISSN 0953-8585) is published monthly by IOP Publishing Ltd, Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol BS1 6BE, UK. Annual subscription price is US $610. Air freight and mailing Lateral Thoughts 60 in the USA by Publications Expediting, Inc., 200 Meacham Ave, Elmont NY 11003. Periodicals postage at Jamaica NY 11431. Superconductor memories Cormac O’Raifeartaigh US Postmaster: send address changes to Physics World, American Institute of Physics, Suite 1NO1, 2 Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502 Physics World April 2011 1 Untitled-3 1 17/03/2011 15:26 PWApr11quanta 17/3/11 16:18 Page 3 physicsworld.com Quanta For the record Seen and heard The true scope of the tragedy still remains beyond comprehension and worn during a trip to the Mir space station in 1990. Also getting in on the golden is a shocking reminder of the reality of jubilee of Gagarin’s flight is Australian firm the nuclear threat Four Pines Brewing Company, which has Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet developed “Vostok” – the first beer Union, writing in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Christopher Jonassen designed to be drunk in space. Vostok is Marking 25 years since the accident at the less carbonated than normal beer and has a Chernobyl nuclear power station, Gorbachev warns stronger flavour to counteract the fact that of the importance in keeping weapons-grade in zero-g the tongue swells and the senses nuclear material out of the hands of terrorists. dull. “Wherever humans have journeyed in the last 1000 years, we first worry about We do have room-temperature water, food, shelter and clothing,” superconductivity. It just depends on No pan intended Jaron Mitchell, founder of Four Pines told Quiz question. What object is shown in the news.com.au. “In many cases, beer is the where you have your room above image? No, it’s not Mars or Mercury next consideration.” We’ll drink to that. Jörg Schmalian, from Iowa State University, – or indeed any other planet in our solar speaking at the 2011 American Association for system for that matter. The picture is in fact Not so elementary the Advancement of Science conference in of the underside of that common kitchen After crushing former Jeopardy! TV Washington, DC utensil – the frying pan. The images were game-show champions Ken Jennings and As materials have been found that superconduct taken by Norwegian-based artist Brad Rutter, scientists at IBM must at about 140 K, we do have room-temperature Christopher Jonassen for his new book have been pleased with their latest superconductivity – on the Moon that is. Devour, which showcases the wear and tear supercomputer “Watson” – until it came up of one frying pan after another. Jonassen against physicist and US Congressman I speak as a citizen not as a scientist, took the pictures after exposing his Rush Holt that is. In Jeopardy! contestants but I think I know a rip-off when I collection of worn-out pans to cooking oils, are presented with clues in the form of using various lighting techniques to bring answers, and must phrase their responses see one out different textures in the images. But in question form. For example, if told “It is Physicist Freeman Dyson quoted in Jonassen does not appear to be aware of the only state lying south of the Tropic of Princeton Magazine the pan–planet similarities. “In the Cancer”, the correct answer would be Dyson thinks a lot of people have made a beginning, I was mainly interested in the “What is Hawaii?”. Watson, which was profession out of global warming and decries the abstract splatter of the cooking oil, but it especially designed for Jeopardy!, uses a “tremendously dogmatic” predictions about was really interesting to discover how series of algorithms and some heavy-duty worldwide temperature trends. everyday life was wearing out the surface processing – including nine servers – to and metal of the frying pans one tiny determine the answer with the highest We are bringing the spirit of science scratch at the time,” Jonassen told probability of being correct. Watson finally back to a subject that has become too Physics World. “It became a really powerful met its match with Holt, former assistant metaphor for how we are exhausting the director of the Princeton Plasma Physics argumentative and too contentious planet we inhabit.” Right… Laboratory, who amassed $8600 to Richard Muller from the University of California, Watson’s $6200. Sadly, the two only came Berkeley, quoted in the Guardian Place your bids monitor-to-head in a first-round game and Muller is leading the Berkeley Earth project – Got some spare change lying around? never played a full Jeopardy! match. what claims to be a completely independent Then get down to Sotheby’s in New York assessment of global warming. on 12 April. The auction house is inviting In it to win it bids for the Soviet Union’s legendary Speaking of quizzes, what Greenland is destined to be Vostok 3KA-2 capsule, which is expected to element in the periodic Caroline Prew remembered as a classic example of fetch $2–10m. The craft, which took off in table has the atomic March 1961, is famous for being the last number 36? And which how not to put science on the stage test flight for the Soviet 3KA-3 capsule that Nobel laureate’s real name Physicist and science writer Graham Farmelo blasted Yuri Gagarin into space 50 years was Gábor Dénes? These were some of the quoted in the Times Higher Education ago on 12 April 1961 and made him the first taxing questions faced by a Physics World Farmelo was commenting on a play at the person to leave the Earth’s bounds. But if team at last month’s Big Science Pub Quiz National Theatre looking into our society’s current your piggy bank doesn’t quite stretch that held at Imperial College London. A total position on climate change. far, then you might instead fancy some of 16 teams entered – from the Guardian to spacesuits worn by cosmonauts the BBC – with each group of journalists Any woman who collects Star Wars Alexei Leonov and Gennadi Strekalov, joining forces with select academics from toys is fine with me which Bonhams are auctioning in Imperial. The Physics World team, aided by New York on 5 May. Estimated to fetch physicist John Tisch and four members of Physicist Brian Cox quoted in the Daily Mail about $100 000 each, Leonov’s suit was his quantum-optics research group, came a Cox, star of BBC TV series Wonders of the Universe, worn during the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz respectable eighth, with 52.5 out of 95.