Superconductivity: a brief introduction to its phenomenology and theories

A brief introduction to the phenomenology of superconductivity is presented. A section on the superconducting state considers the main features of superconductivity; the superconducting transition temperature, zero resistivity, the Meissner effect, the isotope effect, microwave and optical properties, and the superconducting energy gap. A second section on the Ginzburg-Landau equations is concerned with the concepts of coherence length, penetration depth, flux quantization, magnetic-field dependence of the energy gap, quantum interference phenomena, and the Josephson effect. The final section on the new superconductors briefly reviews the new field of high-temperature superconductivity, its experimental facts, and current theories.<
>