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Monday, March 28, 2011

#MATERIAL: "Superconductivity: New phase of matter?"

Superconductivity theories abound, but thus far none has led to a room-temperature superconductor. Now DoE researchers believe a new theory—namely, that superconductivity is based on an undiscovered state of matter—may hold the key to a better understanding of the phenomenon.


Phase diagram common for cuprate superconductors goes from insulating phase typical of undoped cuprate compounds (left, black) through hole doping phases to superconducting (blue), the pseudogap phase (red), and a “normal metallic” phase (white).

The new theory comes from researchers at Berkeley Lab, the University of California at Berkeley, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.; SLAC's original name was the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center).
Further Reading: http://bit.ly/NextGenLog-dVQc