In some copper oxides, superconductivity emerges when fixed electrons become mobile. A microscopy technique reveals that this process is associated with the transfer of electrons between real and abstract spaces. Superconductivity is a dramatic phenomenon in which a material loses all resistance to electric currents. Although the concept is simple, the electronic states that underlie superconductivity are complex, and provide a rich area for research. This is especially true for high-temperature superconductors based on copper oxide (cuprates), for which mechanisms of superconductivity remain hotly debated some two decades after their discovery.
展开▼
