Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Yalta, Ukraine, from 16-20 september 2001

This book is devoted to superconductivity, which is one of the most interesting problems in physics. In accordance with the outline of the book, it treats the key problems in the field of superconductivity, in particular, it discusses the mechanism(s) of superconductivity. This book is useful for researchers and graduate students in the fields of solid state physics, quantum field theory, and many-body theory.

High-Temperature Superconductors provides an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the properties of these fascinating materials. Much has been learned about the behavior and mechanism of this novel type of superconductivity over the past five years, but many questions remain unanswered. This book gives an invaluable survey which will help students and researchers to consolidate their knowledge and build upon it. A large number of illustrations and tables give valuable information for specialists. A critical comparison of different theoretical models involving strong electron correlations, spin fluctuations, phonons and excitons provides a background for understanding modern trends in the theory of high-temperature superconductivity.

In contrast to research on the fundamental mechanisms of High-Temperature Superconductivity, in recent years we have seen enormous developments in the fabrication and application of High-Tc-superconductors. The two volumes of High Temperature Superconductivity provide a survey of the state of the technology and engineering applications of these materials. They comprise extended original research papers and technical review articles written by physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers, all of them noted experts in their fields. The interdisciplinary and strictly application-oriented coverage should benefit graduate students and academic researchers in the mentioned areas as well as industrial experts. Volume 1 "Materials" focuses on major technical advancements in High-Tc materials processing for applications. Volume 2 "Engineering Applications" covers numerous application areas where High-Tc superconductors are making tremendous impact.

Unconventional superconductivity (or superconductivity with a nontrivial Cooper pairing) is believed to exist in many heavy-fermion materials as well as in high temperature superconductors, and is a subject of great theoretical and experimental interest. The remarkable progress achieved in this field has not been reflected in published monographs and textbooks, and there is a gap between current research and the standard education of solid state physicists in the theory of superconductivity. This book is intended to meet this information need and includes the authors' original results.

Superconductors offer high throughput with low electric losses and have the potential to transform the electric power grid. Transmission networks incorporating cables of this type could, for example, deliver more power and enable substantial energy savings. Superconductors in the Power Grid: Materials and Applications provides an overview of superconductors and their applications in power grids. Sections address the design and engineering of cable systems and fault current limiters and other emerging applications for superconductors in the power grid, as well as case studies of industrial applications of superconductors in the power grid. - Expert editor from highly respected US government-funded research centre - Unique focus on superconductors in the power grid - Comprehensive coverage

The discovery by J. G. Bednorz and K. A. Mtllier in 1986 that the superconducting state can exist in oxides at temperatures above 30 K stimulated research in the field of superconductivity and opened up a new field of research. Within a few years a large number of cuprate superconductors with transition temperatures well above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen have been found. The possibility of using liquid nitrogen as coolant re-stimulated interest in power applications of supercon ductivity. In this book an overview of the known high-Te superconductors and their physical properties is presented. Aspects related to conductor fabrication and high-current applications are emphasised. The material should be suitable for use in graduate level courses on superconductivity. Researchers in the field may profit from the large number of tables and references describing its status at the end of 1997. An introduction to high-To superconductivity must be based on the fundamental physical principles of normal-state electrical conductivity and the well-known characteristics of conventional superconductors. In Chapter 2 this background is provided. Crystal structures, anisotropic properties and general trends of the critical temperatures of the cuprate superconductors are described in Chapters 3 and 4. The processing of superconductor powders addressed in Chapter 5 affects considerably the current-carrying capacity of high-T. wires. In Chapter 6 several fabrication techniques for superconducting wires are described. In addition, the factors limiting the transport critical currents ofhigh-Te wires are discussed.