High-temperature superconductivity and its applications

Abstract

Discovered over a hundred years ago, superconductivity has revolutionized physics by opening a new door of understanding. Relying on the newly established theories of quantum mechanics to explain the mechanisms and reasons behind conventional and unconventional superconductors alike, superconductivity has sparked a wide interest in physicists in the pursuit of the holy grail of superconductivity: a room temperature and pressure superconductor capable of revolutionizing energy transport and more. This study takes a close look at the origins of superconductivity, the theories behind it and the findings that the cutting edge research being done on copper oxides and iron pnictides has unearthed. The final section of this study analyzes real data, namely resistivity and magnetization, obtained from the iron pnictide SmFeAsO1−xFx