As we cool down certain materials to extremely low temperature, its electric resistivity can abruptly drop to zero, a phenomenon called superconductivity. It’s no small feat! For example, zero resistance means an electric current can flow in a superconducting wire for many many years. In this class, you’ll be introduced to more fascinating properties of superconductors, and we’ll try to answer the question: what causes superconductivity?

Superconductivity is one of the most exciting discoveries in the 20th century. Superconductors are cool (literally) not just because they have zero electrical resistance; they exhibit a whole zoology of strange properties that still fascinate physicists today. This course will introduce many properties of superconductors and provide several theoretical frameworks to study their phenomenology. Topics include London equations, Ginzburg-Landau theory, Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory, and Josephson junction. We will end with discussions on high-Tc superconductors, which are at the forefront of condensed matter research today.

As we cool down certain materials to extremely low temperature, its electric resistivity can abruptly drop to zero, a phenomenon called superconductivity. It’s no small feat! For example, zero resistance means an electric current can flow in a superconducting wire for many many years. In this class, you’ll be introduced to more fascinating properties of superconductors, and we’ll try to answer the question: what causes superconductivity?

You probably know that light usually travels in a straight line, unless a magnifying glass (i.e. a convex lens) bends it. But why do physicists claim that our Sun can also act like a lens? In this class, you will be introduced to Einstein's famous general theory of relativity and you will learn the reason for this magic lensing effect!