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Customer Reviews (6)

Great on it's own, or part of a pair...
I am a grad student researching superconducting circuits for quantum information. Everyone in my lab uses this book as a reference so I bought it to use as my introduction to superconductivity theory. I like the book very much and would recommend it to anyone who has taken a graduate course in quantum mechanics.

Tinkham's basic theoretical development is clear and comprehensive, and the accompanying discussion is actually helpful. You can learn how to really extract information from a theory if you pay attention to how Tinkham works the BCS theory in chapter 3. There's a good reason this book is a classic. After just reading chapter 3 I was able to understand essentially everything I need to have an intelligent conversation with others in my research group.

I recommend this book along with Van Duzer's "Superconducting Devices and Circuit." While Tinkham is presumably a book on basic theory, and Van Duzer is presumably a book for applications, both books provide brilliant gems of insight in each other's domain. They make a great pair.

Prerequisits: Second quantization, basic solid state, and basic E&M. In short, a first year grad student's education is more than enough.

must have for low temperature reasearchers.
I have one in my lab, this is for my home. it is a must have.

Excellent reference book
This classic book on superconductivity is excellent for an experienced reader who has already somebackground in superconductivity. However, for a student trying to learn superconductivity, it says too many things in too brief which may be difficult to follow. While teaching a course I would prefer to follow a book like Superconductivity by Ketterson and Song and refer to this book for selected (special) topics.

Introduction to Superconductivity : Second Edition (Dover Books on Physics)
I really enjoy reading this book.Thanks for the wonderful service of Amazon

An Amazing Introduction to an Amazing Field
The theory of superconductors is an amazingly complicated and rich field, and it can be very daunting to begin studying without a large background in physics. This book does an excellent job telling you the details enough to understand what is going on without giving you so much that it becomes a daunting task to read the book.

Having only read through the first three chapters so far, I give that caveat before continuing.

The first chapter, the author says upfront, is difficult to follow, as it gives a quick outline of every future chapter in the book. I would recommend skimming the first chapter, and then after reading each chapter go back and see if you got the key points illustrated in the first chapter.

The second chapter, a treatment of the London equations, does an excellent job deriving the London equations in the first section, then providing a great deal of application of the equations, as well as outlining the limits of that model of superconductors.

Chapter 3 is where the book gets down to business, as Tinkham gives an introduction to BCS theory. This treatment uses plausibility arguements to justify many of the conclusions or assumptions, but also provides some guidance to the mathematical rigor you might use to really prove the assertions you make. The chapter does not leave you feeling very confused at all, and the section can be read almost straight through.

Although I have not read any further into the book, I can only imagine that it is more of the same. I would strongly recommend this book to anybody interested in learning something about superconductors before trying something more rigorous, such as Schrieffer's classic text on the work. ... Read more

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Superconductivity--the flow of electric current without resistance in certain materials as temperatures near absolute zero--is one of the greatest discoveries of 20th century physics, but it can seem impenetrable to those who lack a solid scientific background.Outlining the fascinating history of how superconductivity was discovered, and the race to understand its many mysterious and counter-intuitive phenomena, Stephen Blundell explains in accessible terms the theories that have been developed to explain it, and how they have influenced other areas of science, including the Higgs boson of particle physics and ideas about the early Universe. This Very Short Introduction examines the many strange phenomena observed in superconducting materials, the latest developments in high-temperature superconductivity, the potential of superconductivity to revolutionize the physics and technology of the future, and much more. It is a fascinating detective story, offering invaluable insights into some of the deepest and most beautiful ideas in physics today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent intro for novices
This book is a short and well written intro to Superconductivity.It has a lot of background into the history and theory(s) of the subject, I look forward to when the real reasons superconductivity works come out.

Very Informative!
This book provides a good overview of the technologies of superconductivity and their applications. However, the account of superconductivity history is too elaborated and sometimes boring.

Fascinating applications of superconductivity include using superconducting magnets for energy storage, MRI scanners, particle accelerators and Maglev trains in Japan to produce levitation. Because of the high cost of using liquid helium for cooling superconductors, the application of superconducting wires in power transmission and transformers are not economically viable. It is exciting to know that we might be possible to get superconductivity to work at room temperature and everything will change!

More is different
The twentieth century was replete with profound new discoveries in Physics that radically reshaped the way we think about the world around us. In a nutshell, we can think of these conceptual breakthroughs in terms of two simple slogans: "small is different" and "more is different." "Small is different" refers to the fact that when we look at the world at the very smallest scale the usual laws of everyday Physics start to break down. We are unable to determine position of objects with any finite certainty, objects seem to be able to be at two possible locations at a same time, and properties of objects don't vary smoothly but come in terms of discrete values. The realm of the very smallest is investigated in the parts of Physics that we call Quantum Mechanics (see for instance Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)) and Particle Physics (see for instance Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction. When we think of modern Physics, this is usually what we first have in mind. However, another important conceptual line of investigation is encapsulated in the other phrase, "more is different." This refers to the fact that many times, a whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and under certain conditions it is impossible to understand the behavior of a system of particles just by understanding the properties of individual particles. In fact, in some cases the notion of individual particle itself becomes suspect. Quantum mechanics itself has already hinted at some of this, but the branch of Physics that are deals with this approach to the world around us the most is called "Solid State Physics" or "Condensed Matter Physics." This is an area of vast and important active research, both theoretical and experimental, but it has never quite gotten the public recognition that it warrants. For instance Jim Bardeen, the only person to have won the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, is hardly a household name. This very short introduction is a good starting point to get acquainted with one phenomenon that the Condensed Matter Physics deals with, and that is the phenomenon of Superconductivity.

Superconductivity is the property of certain materials that endows them with perfect conductivity at very low temperatures. Since the temperatures at which it manifests itself are extremely low, until the early part of twentieth century it was a completely unknown phenomenon. The first chapter or so of this book deal with the search for the very low temperatures, and the significant milestones along that way. We are then shown how the search for these low temperatures lead to the discovery of some very interesting properties of metals at those extreme regimes, among which was superconductivity. The first part of the twentieth century was spent at discovery and better characterization of superconducting materials, primarily metals, but a theoretical understanding of superconductivity proved much more elusive. A breakthrough happened in 1950s, when aforementioned John Bardeen with a couple of his collaborators came up with a theory of "regular" superconductivity, i.e. the kind of superconductivity that was known to exist up through 1980s. And then, in 1980s superconductivity was discovered in all sorts of unexpected places, and many of the materials that it was discovered in were not even metals. The theory of this so-called high-temperature superconductivity has to this day eluded researchers.

What makes superconductivity so important to study is the fact that it is the ultimate many-body phenomenon: superconductivity cannot be reduced to conduction of individual electrons, but all of the electrons in a material must be taken into the account at once, together with their interaction with the rest of the material. This is what makes understanding superconductivity intrinsically difficult.

The book concludes with several applications of superconductivity and prospects for future research and discovery. This is a very well written book that makes a very difficult subject accessible to the general audience.
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Major superconducting properties including zero resistance, Meissner effect, sharp phase change, flux quantization, excitation energy gap, Josephson effects are covered and microscopically explained, using quantum statistical mechanical calculations. First treated are the 2D superconductivity and then the quantum Hall effects. Included are exercise-type problems for each section. Readers can grasp the concepts covered in the book by following the worked-through problems. Bibliographies are included in each chapter and a glossary and list of symbols are given in the beginning of the book.

The book is based on the materials taught by S. Fujita for several courses in Quantum Theory of Solids, Advanced Topics in Modern Physics, and Quantum Statistical Mechanics.

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Superconductivity, provides a basic introduction to one of the most innovative areas in condensed matter physics today. This book includes ample tutorial material, including illustrations, chapter summaries, graded problem sets, and concise examples.This book is part of the Oxford Master Series in Condensed Matter Physics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Optimal for beginners in the field
Judging from this volume, Annett seems to be a great teacher and a great writer.

The distance between the material covered here and actual research is quite large, but that's OK, since the book is advertised as a pedagogical introduction, and it is really good at that.

Every chapter includes a number of smartly-chosen problems, the solutions to which are given in an Appendix.

I have given the book 4 stars instead of 5, because it suffers from horrendous copy-editing. Grammatical mistakes, typos in equations, wrong references to previous equations (and the list goes on). One gets the feeling that the publisher received the author's manuscript and published it as is. This makes it very difficult to understand why it's so expensive. Hopefully these errors will be removed in a future edition.

a nice introduction to this subject
As most of the books of this serie, this one is also a successful introduction to the desired subject.
The text is very pedagogical and the author never avoids a calculation which leads to an important result. Everyformula is generally commented in order to extract the physics behind.
All the important subjects related to BEC aretouched. The main core of thebook seems ,for me, understandable by a good undergraduate student.
Of course that won't make you a specialist of this wide subject which required a lot of knowledges from different parts of physics , but at least the most important things will be kwnown and you will have the sufficent stuff to go more deeply in the subject of your choice with therequired litterature ( which may be found in the bibliography of the book).
I think it deserves its five stars since the objectives of the books(being an clear introduction without being to light) are definitly reached. Definitly a nice book ! ... Read more

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Superfluidity and Superconductivity, Third Edition introduces the low-temperature phenomena of superfluidity and superconductivity from a unified viewpoint. The book stresses the existence of a macroscopic wave function as a central principle, presents an extensive discussion of macroscopic theories, and includes full descriptions of relevant experimental results throughout. This edition also features an additional chapter on high-temperature superconductors. With problems at the end of most chapters as well as the careful elaboration of basic principles, this comprehensive survey of experiment and theory provides an accessible and invaluable foundation for graduate students studying low-temperature physics as well as senior undergraduates taking specialized courses. ... Read more

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This book is P. W. Anderson's long-awaited full presentation of his theory of high-Tc superconductivity in the cuprates. He realized that this striking new phenomenon needed for its explanation not just a new mechanism or "gimmick" but a radical reworking of the electronic theory of metals, especially those of low dimension. The many fundamentally new ideas that are first fully presented here will require a rewriting of the textbooks of many-body theory, which may take decades. The book incorporates full discussions of the experimental situation in these complex materials, both the normal and the superconducting states.The latestadvances are contained in a selection of re-and pre-prints of recent work by Anderson and collaborators.

The fundamental insight contained in the book is that the conditions for validity of the renormalized quasiparticle theory of metals ("Fermi Liquid Theory") are much more restrictive than had been thought, and are not satisfied in the CuO2 planes of high-Tc materials (among, probably, many other examples). This requires a new state of matter to be invented, new transport theories, and new mechanisms for superconductivity. This book will supersede all theoretical discussions of superconductivity that are now available in book form. ... Read more

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Drawn from the author's introductory course at the University of Orsay, Superconductivity of Metals and Alloys is intended to explain the basic knowledge of superconductivity for both experimentalists and theoreticians. These notes begin with an elementary discussion of magnetic properties of Type I and Type II superconductors. The microscopic theory is then built up in the Bogolubov language of self-consistent fields. This text provides the classic, fundamental basis for any work in the field of superconductivity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Too advanced for the average Joe
When I saw this book, I thought I had found a book that would explain Superconductivity in a manor that I could experiment with in my spare time. Obviously this book is written for those who have a good background in Theory and college level math; not the weekend garage inventor. With so many formulas to swim through I was lost in references that I had never heard of, not to mention could even put to use with my limited knowledge of the subject. For those out there wanting something simpler, look for a book with more illustrated pictures of the formulas in action and not entire pages of numbers, sub-typed Greek letters and squiggly line graphs.

Everlasting standard for textbook in physics
It is not possibly the best superconductivity book I have ever read, it is certainly an everlasting standard for a texbook in physics. The generations of superconductivity researchers, including myself, have grown up as scientists upon reading this book. Even now, in the era of high temperature superconductivity, someone new in the field should read this book first.

review of De Gennes, Superconductivity of metals and alloys
Possibly the best superconductivity book I have ever read. He covers GL equations excellently - he builds them up from Landau theory of phase transitions, by constructing them using the Helmholtz free energy. As far as the microscopic theory goes, BCS is brought from the very beginnings, in a methodical, logical mannar. The book is, however, a little mathematical for most people's tastes. A fair knowledge of quantum mechanics is needed before this book should be read (for example: Dirac notation, matix algebra to mention a few).

I have never read your books before. but I heard.
I am interested in superconductivity and diffusion of superconductivity. I am studying superconductuvitiy and elektrodiffusion. ... Read more

Product Description
Theory of Superconductivity is considered one of the best treatments of the field. This monograph, by Nobel Prize-winning physicist J. Robert Schrieffer, has been reprinted because of its enduring value as an introduction to the theory of superconductivity. Based on a series of lectures presented by the author at the University of Pennsylvania, the fundamentals of the theory of superconductivity are stressed as a means of providing the reader with a framework for the literature in which detailed applications of the microscopic theory are made to specific problems. It also serves as a foundation for the more recent developments in this active field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Pretty good
Although the material in the book is a little bit old, I still think it's a good text book if you are the beginner in learning superconductivity. Pretty awesome!! ... Read more

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This graduate-level text describes the physics of superconductivity and superfluidity, macroscopic quantum phenomena found in many conductors at low temperatures and in liquid helium 4 and helium 3. In the first part of the book the author presents the mean field theory of generalized pair condensation. This is followed by a description of the properties of ordinary superconductors using BCS theory.The book then proceeds with expositions of strong coupling theory and the Ginzburg-Landau theory. The remarkable properties of superfluid helium 3 are then described, as an example of a superfluid with internal degrees of freedom. Recent topics in the field, such as the copper-oxide high temperature superconductors and exotic superconductivity of heavy fermion systems are discussed in the final chapter.This book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in condensed matter physics, especially those working in superconductivity and superfluidity. ... Read more

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An important survey of early work on high-temperaturesuperconductivity by authors working in Russia's leading researchgroup, headed by 2003 Nobel Prize winner, Vitaly I. Ginzburg, at theI.E. Tamm Department of Theoretical Physics of the Lebedev PhysicsInstitute in Moscow. ... Read more

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Comprehensive coverage of superconductivity from the Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Engineering Superconductivity features fifty articles selected from the Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, the one truly indispensable reference for electrical engineers. Superconductor technology has made highly advanced experiments possible in chemistry, biochemistry, particle physics, and health sciences, and introduced new applications currently in use in fields from medicine to cellular communications. Taken together, these articles-written by acknowledged experts in the field-provide the most complete and in-depth accounting of superconductivity in existence. The book brings together a wealth of information that would not be available to those who do not have access to the full 24-volume encyclopedia.This thorough survey looks at the application of superconductors from an engineer's practical perspective rather than a theoretical approach. Engineering Superconductivity provides full coverage of the fundamentals of superconducting behavior and explains the properties and fabrication methods of commercially produced superconductors. Up-to-date material on superconductor applications as well as competing technologies is included. The fifty articles presented here are divided into three sections:
* Superconductivity and magnetism
* Superconductors
* Applications and related technology
Engineering Superconductivity is a complete and up-to-date reference for engineers, physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and anyone working with superconductors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic tome of superconductivity
I only got to read this book in a library, but was struck by the practical details. I wish I could afford to buy it. A lot of books science these days are limited to generalities but this book gets down and dirty with specifics. If you want a good book on the modern state of the art in superconductivity, this book is a great choice although it is kind of pricey. ... Read more

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Superconductivity, 2E is an encyclopedic treatment of all aspects of the subject, from classic materials to fullerenes. Emphasis is on balanced coverage, with a comprehensive reference list and significant graphicsfrom all areas of the published literature. Widely used theoretical approaches are explained in detail. Topics of special interest include high temperature superconductors, spectroscopy, critical states, transport properties, and tunneling.

This book covers the whole field of superconductivity from both the theoretical and the experimental point of view.

- Comprehensive coverage of the field of superconductivity
- Very up-to date on magnetic properties, fluxons, anisotropies, etc.
- Over 2500 references to the literature
- Long lists of data on the various types of superconductors ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A little dated but still very relevent on something arcane to most people
The knowledge of these advanced materials moves ahead on minute by minute basis. Makes it hard to keep a book in date. This one has lot of background, very, very heavy but extremely useful on some gaps in my data bank.

a book to understand the superconductivity
Firstly, I must say that this book is written at overgradute level especially for physics students. It is well desinged to help the reader to read and understand the topics. Well , I enjoy reading it, and I recommentit to anyone.

Mehmet ... Read more

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Since the 1980s, a general theme in the study of high-temperature superconductors has been to test the BCS theory and its predictions against new data. At the same time, this process has engendered new physics, new materials, and new theoretical frameworks. Remarkable advances have occurred in sample quality and in single crystals, in hole and electron doping in the development of sister compounds with lower transition temperatures, and in instruments to probe structure and dynamics. Handbook of High-Temperature Superconductvity is a comprehensive and in-depth treatment of both experimental and theoretical methodologies by the the world's top leaders in the field. The Editor, Nobel Laureate J. Robert Schrieffer, and Associate Editor James S. Brooks, have produced a unified, coherent work providing a global view of high-temperature superconductivity covering the materials, the relationships with heavy-fermion and organic systems, and the many formidable challenges that remain.

Product Description
What is superconductivity? How was it discovered? What are the properties of superconductors, how are they applied now, and how are they likely to become widely used in the near future? These are just some of the questions which this important book sets out to answer. Starting with the discovery of superconductivity over ninety years ago, the book guides the readers through the many years of subsequent exploration, right up to the latest sensational findings. Written in a lively, nontechnical style, this book makes ideal background reading for any school or college level study of superconductivity. The authors, who are leading authorities in the field, paint detailed pictures of the phenomena involved without mathematical formalism, appealing instead to physical intuition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

correction
This is not the same book as given in the description.the "paperback edition" is an entirely different book by different authors!This is a treatment of superconductivity which is elementary only to a theoretical physicist. ... Read more

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This book focuses on superconductivity which is the ability of certain materials to conduct electrical current with no resistance and extremely low losses. High temperature superconductors, such as La2-xSrxCuOx (Tc=40K) and YBa2Cu3O7-x (Tc=90K), were discovered in 1987 and have been actively studied since. In spite of an intense, worldwide, research effort during this time, a complete understanding of the copper oxide (cuprate) materials is still lacking. Many fundamental questions are unanswered, particularly the mechanism by which high-Tc superconductivity occurs.More broadly, the cuprates are in a class of solids with strong electron-electron interactions. An understanding of such 'strongly correlated' solids is perhaps the major unsolved problem of condensed matter physics with over ten thousand researchers working on this topic. High-Tc superconductors also have significant potential for applications in technologies ranging from electric power generation and transmission to digital electronics. ... Read more

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An up-to-date overview of superconductor theory and applications. Presents the basics of superconductivity, followed by a survey of recent research results from around the world, including the latest warm-temperature superconductivity experiments. Also addresses commercial aspects of superconductivity describing current and future applications of superconductors in various fields such as high energy physics, medical imaging, energy, electronics, and materials science. Includes a wealth of illustrations, photographs, charts, graphs, and diagrams. ... Read more

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The Handbook of Applied Superconductivity, Two-Volume Set covers all important aspects of applied superconductivity and the supporting low-temperature technologies. The handbook clearly demonstrates the capabilities of superconducting technologies and illustrates how to implement these technologies in new areas of academic and industrial research and development.

Volume One provides an introduction to the theoretical background of both low and high Tc superconductivity, followed by details of the basic hardware such as wires, tapes, and cables used in applications of superconductivity and the necessary supporting science and technology. Theoretical discussions are in most cases followed by examples of real designs, fabrication techniques, and practical instrumentation guidance. A final chapter examines materials properties at low temperatures.

Volume Two provides examples of current and future applications of superconductivity. It covers medical systems for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), high field magnets for research, superconducting magnets for accelerators, industrial systems for magnetic separation, and transportation systems. The final chapters look to future applications in power and superconducting electronics.

With fully referenced, peer-refereed contributions from experts in various fields, this two-volume work is an essential reference for a wide range of scientists and engineers in academic and industrial research and development environments. ... Read more

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One of the most exciting developments in modern physics has been the discovery of the new class of oxide materials with high superconducting transition temperature. Systems with Tc well above liquid nitrogen temperature are already a reality and higher Tc's are anticipated. Indeed, the idea of a room-temperature superconductor, which just a short time ago was considered science fiction, appears to be a distinctly possible outcome of materials research. To address the need to train students and scientists for research in this exciting field, Jeffrey W. Lynn and colleagues at the University of Maryland, College Park, as well as other superconductivity experts from around the U.S., taught a graduate-level course in the fall of 1987, from which the chapters in this book were drawn. Subjects included are: Survey of superconductivity (J. Lynn).- The theory of type-II superconductivity (D. Belitz).- The Josephson effect (P. Ferrell).- Crystallography (A. Santoro).- Electronic structure (C.P. Wang).- Magnetic properties and interactions (J. Lynn).- Synthesis and diamagnetic properties (R. Shelton).- Electron pairing (P. Allen).- Superconducting devices (F. Bedard).- Superconducting properties (J. Crow, N.-P. Ong). ... Read more

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This is a text on superconductivity, an area of intense research activity worldwide.The book is in three parts.The first covers the London, Pippard and GinzburgSHLandau theories, which are used to discuss a wide range of phenomena involving surface energies, vorticity, the intermediate and mixed states, boundaries and boundary conditions, the upper critical field in bulk, thin film and anisotropic superconductors, and surface superconductivity. The second part discusses the microscopic theory of Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer. The theory is used to discuss quasi particle tunneling and the Josephson effects from a microscopic point of view.The final part of the book treats nonuniform superconductors using the BogoliubovSHde Gennes approach with which it is possible to extract many important results without invoking Green's function methods. This text will be of great interest to graduate students taking courses in superconductivity, superfluidity, many body theory, and quantum liquids.It will also be of value to research workers in the field of superconductivity. ... Read more