CRC Press Superconductivity of Metals and Cuprates

Superconductivity of Metals and Cuprates covers the basic physics of superconductivity, both the theoretical and experimental aspects. The book concentrates on important facts and ideas, including Ginzburg-Landau equations, boundary energy, Green's function methods, and spectroscopy. Avoiding lengthy or difficult presentations of theory, it is written in a clear and lucid style with many useful, informative diagrams. The book is designed to be accessible to senior undergraduate students, making it a helpful tool for teaching superconductivity as well as serving as an introduction to those entering the field. Review "I have enormously appreciated reading this book … As an experimental solid-state physicist and a materials scientist, I have learned a lot of things … well written, clear … a basic graduate school textbook on superconductivity. … a very complete, comprehensive, and illustrative work, which goes beyond the purely theoretical aspects. … good overview of superconductivity and covers a wide range of aspects, including applications. … Congratulations to the author." -MRS Bulletin "very useful, comprehensive, spanning a spectrum that includes phenomenology and history, microscopic theory, high-temperature superconductivity, and applications … sections on the macroscopic wave function, describing the superfluid behavior of the electrons, the Ginzburg-Landau model, and the Josephson effects … contain unique physical insights. …Especially noteworthy are the treatments of electron-phonon coupling, the relationship of the order parameter to the microscopic theory, and the nonlocal form of the BCS theory. … a heroic effort to cover the current understanding and present in a fair manner the various positions on many questions. Particularly strong are the considerations of electronic structure issues, properties of the normal state, and issues such as the spin gap and the pseudogap. …essential physical ideas are outlined, and the references … provide a clear path into the various subfields for the interested reader. … The comparison of the properties of the cuprates with … BCS theory is an excellent summary of a large number of experimental studies … a fine job in reviewing the experimental facts … contains many profound physical insights and … a comprehensive introduction to a wide variety of topics … certainly should be read by serious students of the subject." -Physics Today "… It is true that much of the intrinsic beauty of superconductivity is that it is basically a quantum mechanical phenomenon and any thorough treatment has to tackle this head on. John Waldram has met this challenge admirably … an impressive contribution and worthy of its subject. I can not recommend it too highly." -L.F. Cohen (Imperial College, London, UK), Contemporary Physics, Vol. 40, No, 1, 1999 About the Author Dr. Waldram is the Physics Co-Director of the IRC in Superconductivity at Cambridge University.