Superconductivity: So simple, yet so hard to explain!
For half a century the world's most brilliant physics theorists tried
scribbling equations, only to crumple the paper and hurl it at a
wastebasket. Bend a metal wire into a circle, make it as cold as
you possibly can, and set an electric current moving around it.
The current can persist. Put the circle of wire above a magnet,
and it will float there until the end of the world.
In the decades after this strange discovery, physicists figured
out the laws of relativity and quantum mechanics. They worked
out equations to calculate all the colors and chemistry of the
natural world, they cracked open the atomic nucleus, they
uncovered the forces that light the stars... and still nobody had
explained that little floating wire.
This exhibit tells how three extraordinary minds worked together
to finally solve the puzzle. You will see that getting to a new theory
may take not just one "Moment of Discovery" but a string of dozens
of such moments among many people. For a personal account,
listen to Bob Schrieffer, the youngest of the team, tell what happened
in his own words. To get the full background, you can read or listen
to how a noted physicist saw the story from an outside perspective.
You can also read a detailed account by a historian of physics, and
explore other supplementary materials.
For half a century the world's most brilliant physics theorists tried
scribbling equations, only to crumple the paper and hurl it at a
wastebasket. Bend a metal wire into a circle, make it as cold as
you possibly can, and set an electric current moving around it.
The current can persist. Put the circle of wire above a magnet,
and it will float there until the end of the world.
In the decades after this strange discovery, physicists figured
out the laws of relativity and quantum mechanics. They worked
out equations to calculate all the colors and chemistry of the
natural world, they cracked open the atomic nucleus, they
uncovered the forces that light the stars... and still nobody had
explained that little floating wire.
This exhibit tells how three extraordinary minds worked together
to finally solve the puzzle. You will see that getting to a new theory
may take not just one "Moment of Discovery" but a string of dozens
of such moments among many people. For a personal account,
listen to Bob Schrieffer, the youngest of the team, tell what happened
in his own words. To get the full background, you can read or listen
to how a noted physicist saw the story from an outside perspective.
You can also read a detailed account by a historian of physics, and
explore other supplementary materials.
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