In Search of Room-Temperature Superconductors

Imagine a world in which magnetic levitation (maglev) trains are commonplace, computers are lightning-fast, power cables have little loss, and new particle detectors exist. This is the world in which room-temperature superconductors are a reality. So far, this is a dream of the future, but scientists are closer than ever to achieving room-temperature superconductivity. What Is Room-Temperature Superconductivity? A room temperature superconductor (RTS) is a type of high-temperature superconductor (high-Tc or HTS) that operates closer to room temperature than to absolute zero. However, the operating temperature above  0  °C (273.15 K)  is still well below what most of us consider normal room temperature (20  to  25  Ã‚ °C). Below the critical temperature, the superconductor has zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic flux fields. While its an oversimplification, superconductivity may be thought of as a state of perfect electrical conductivity. High-temperature superconductors exhibit superconductivity above  30  K (−243.2  Ã‚ °C). While a traditional superconductor must be cooled with liquid helium to become superconductive, a high-temperature superconductor can be cooled using liquid nitrogen. A room-temperature superconductor, in contrast, could be cooled with ordinary water ice.   The Quest for a Room-Temperature Superconductor Bringing up the critical temperature for superconductivity to a practical temperature is a holy grail for physicists and electrical engineers. Some researchers believe room-temperature superconductivity is impossible, while others point to advances that have already surpassed previously-held beliefs. Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by  Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in solid mercury cooled with liquid helium (1913 Nobel Prize in Physics). It wasnt until the 1930s that scientists proposed an explanation of how superconductivity works. In 1933, Fritz and Heinz London explained the Meissner effect, in which a superconductor expels internal magnetic fields. From Londons theory, explanations grew to include the  Ginzburg-Landau theory (1950) and microscopic BCS theory (1957, named for Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer). According to the BCS theory, it seemed superconductivity was forbidden at temperatures above 30 K. Yet, in 1986,  Bednorz and Mà ¼ller discovered the first high-temperature superconductor, a lanthanum-based cuprate perovskite material with a transition temperature of 35 K. The discovery earned them the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics and opened the door for new discoveries. The highest temperature superconductor to date, discovered in 2015  by Mikhail Eremets and his team, is sulfur hydride (H3S). Sulfur hydride has a transition temperature around 203 K (-70  °C), but only under extremely high pressure (around 150 gigapascals). Researchers predict the critical temperature might be raised above  0  Ã‚ °C  if the sulfur atoms are replaced by phosphorus, platinum, selenium, potassium, or tellurium  and still-higher pressure is applied. However, while scientists have proposed explanations for the behavior of the sulfur hydride system, they have been unable to replicate the electrical or magnetic behavior. Room-temperature superconducting behavior has been claimed for other materials besides sulfur hydride. The high-temperature superconductor yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) might become superconductive at 300 K using infrared laser pulses. Solid-state physicist Neil Ashcroft predicts solid metallic hydrogen should be superconducting near room temperature. The Harvard team that claimed to make metallic hydrogen reported the Meissner effect may have been observed at 250 K. Based on exciton-mediated electron pairing (not phonon-mediated pairing of BCS theory), its possible high-temperature superconductivity might be observed in organic polymers under the right conditions. The Bottom Line Numerous reports of room-temperature superconductivity appear in scientific literature, so as of 2018, the achievement seems possible. However, the effect rarely lasts long and is devilishly difficult to replicate. Another issue is that extreme pressure may be required to achieve the Meissner effect. Once a stable material is produced, the most obvious applications include the development of efficient electrical wiring and powerful electromagnets. From there, the sky is the limit, as far as electronics is concerned. A room-temperature superconductor offers the possibility of no energy loss at a practical temperature. Most of the applications of RTS have yet to be imagined. Key Points A room-temperature superconductor (RTS) is a material capable of superconductivity above a temperature of 0  °C. Its not necessarily superconductive at normal room temperature.Although many researchers claim to have observed room-temperature superconductivity, scientists have been unable to reliably replicate the results. However, high-temperature superconductors do exist, with transition temperatures between  Ã¢Ë†â€™243.2  Ã‚ °C  and  Ã¢Ë†â€™135  Ã‚ °C.Potential applications of room-temperature superconductors include faster computers, new methods of data storage, and improved energy transfer. References and Suggested Reading Bednorz, J. G.; Mà ¼ller, K. A. (1986). Possible high TC superconductivity in the Ba-La-Cu-O system. Zeitschrift fà ¼r Physik B. 64 (2): 189–193.Drozdov, A. P.; Eremets, M. I.; Troyan, I. A.; Ksenofontov, V.; Shylin, S. I. (2015). Conventional superconductivity at 203 kelvin at high pressures in the sulfur hydride system. Nature. 525: 73–6.Ge, Y. F.; Zhang, F.; Yao, Y. G. (2016). First-principles demonstration of superconductivity at 280 K in hydrogen sulfide with low phosphorus substitution. Phys. Rev. B. 93 (22): 224513.Khare, Neeraj (2003). Handbook of High-Temperature Superconductor Electronics. CRC Press.Mankowsky, R.; Subedi, A.; Fà ¶rst, M.; Mariager, S. O.; Chollet, M.; Lemke, H. T.; Robinson, J. S.; Glownia, J. M.; Minitti, M. P.; Frano, A.; Fechner, M.;  Spaldin, N. A.; Loew, T.; Keimer, B.; Georges, A.; Cavalleri, A. (2014). Nonlinear lattice dynamics as a basis for enhanced superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6.5.  Nature.  516  (7529): 71–73.   Mourachkine, A. (2004).  Room-Temperature Superconductivity. Cambridge International Science Publishing.

The Birth Of America Is Well, The Biggest And Greatest

The birth of America is well, the biggest and greatest thing to ever happen to us. There are many things that led up to the 1865 era such as salutary neglect, the Constitution, the Louisiana Purchase, Manifest Destiny, and Slavery. Those are just a few things that America powered through to get where we are today. Our Forefathers attempted to rectify what some would consider harsh actions made by the kingdom of Britain in the mid 1700’s. The British didn’t take the American territories seriously and just saw them as colonies to be used and exploited in whatever way that best suited the kingdom’s interest. The morning of April 19, 1775 America was then no longer just negotiating for its rights, we were fighting for them.†¦show more content†¦By the end of the assembly of the Second Continental Congress, America would declare war on Britain. In Lexington in April of 1775 the British troops and colonial militiamen kicked off the armed conflict. By the summer the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their independence. France entered the American Revolution on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning what had been a civil war into an international conflict. French assistance helped the Continental Army force the British surrender in Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. We had won our Independence. Though fighting would not officially end until 1783. The United States Constitution’s final draft was approved on September 17, 1787. It established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. It was, however more than just a document. It would more importantly establish the form of government that would be utilized right up to modern day America. The framers of the Constitution knew that while government needed power in order to be effective, too much power could lead to abuses. 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Dark Rapture Essay Example For Students

Dark Rapture Essay In Native Speech, On the Verge and In perpetuity Throughout the Universe, Eric Overmyer manifested a extraordinary command over the tools of language: sound, syntax and image. None exhibited much control over, or interest in, the more mundane devices of the playwrights art. In Dark Rapture, which premiered at Seattles Empty Space Theater in May, Overmyers verbal dexterity is acute as ever, but this time its harnessed to a plot delivered by characters who seem driven by purposes of their own. Its by far Overmyers most satisfying play. Dark Rapture may not, however, earn its author the critical praise it deserves it certainly didnt in Seattle because it adheres so strictly to the rules of a genre. In the written arts, in film, in dance, in pop music, a creative artists submission to such rules earns no disrespect. In theatre, it seems we honor work created within rigid conventions only if the conventions are someone elses kabuki or kathakali, wayang or noh. Escape from the ordinary Dark Rapture is noir, the genre which crystallized in the 1940s novels and screenplays of Raymond Chandler and has intermittently borne fruit ever since in the hands of artists as various as Richard Condon and Wim Wenders. Good noir is rare on stageOvermyers own early In a Pigs Valise is congested, prankish hommage, dead on arrival. But his Dark Rapture is the most succesful stage essay in the form since Len Jenkinss marvelous, poetic Five of Us. Like many noir fictions, Dark Rapture is about escape: from the self, from the sane, from the ordinary. This time the escape hatch is offered by a fire that leaves the Berkeley Hills home of Ray and Julia Gaines a pile of smoldering rubble with a charred and unrecognizable corpse beneath it. Whose corpse is it: Rays, or a looters? Just where was Julia when the house burned down? And what happened to the brown-paper parcel Julia says she left in Rays custody? Did it go up in flames, too, with or without him? Any number of sinister people want to know. In classic noir manner, the story advances tableau by moody tableau from Baja bedroom to Key West bar deck to Tampas kitchenette, each offering its sharply etched character cameo, its fragment on information, its new complication, straight to a conclusion redolent with irony. Patsies and sleazeballs The performances were utterly attuned to the material. As a lifelong schlepper grabbing that one big chance, Peter Silbert made Ray a loser worth rooting for. As the froms obligatory good bad girl, bad good girl, and bad girl, Sally Smythe, Jessica Marlowe and Katie Forgette gave their archetypical roles individual flair. Particularly notable among those playing assorted gunsels, patsies, sleazeballs, wise-asses and loons were Rex McDowell as a mad Armenian hit-man, Robert Wright and David Pichette (poisonous lizard and rabid pekinese, respective) as businessman trafficking in non-standard merchandise, and David Mong as the mysterious Babcock, Rays sunnily implacable doom. The design was equally supportive. Peggy McDonalds supple arrangements of screens and Paul Chi-ming Loueys matte costumes under Michael Wellborns chiaroscuro lighting heightened Overmyers torrid imagery through contrast. David Pascals sound design holocaust and hurricane and all shadings between put a final polish on Empty Space artistic director Kurt Beatties perfectly paced staging. Few productions of new plays especially ones mounted on a minuscule budget by an artist heretofore best known as an actor-playwright are as assured as this one. Dark Rapture was commissioned and staged as part of the Empty Space ensemble project put together by Beattie to test a long-held conviction that authoritarian structures are ill-designed to produce first-rate theatre; that true extended collaboration is a lot more likely to produce a cultural artifact that has some lasting value for the society that produced it than any one-shot wiring together of egos, however brilliant individually. After only four months of concentrated work and just two productions, Beatties theory already seems amply confirmed in practice.

Reputation in the Crucible free essay sample

Reputation is the estimation or name of being, having, having done, something specified by the general opinion of either a private or public group of people. In Arthur Miller’s screenplay, The Crucible, Miller presents his opinions on the factual truth of the Salem Witch Trials. Various events in Arthur Miller’s screenplay reveal the theme of reputation as being a leading force in the developing plotlines of the story. By doing this, he brings a whole new point of view to the readers of his screenplay. Reputation was extremely important at the time, as in a town like Salem where social standing was tied to one’s ability to follow religious rules. If you had a good reputation, you were more likely to be an upright member of the church and a good Christian. In Puritan times being religious and following the rules of God meant everything. The reputations of many characters in the crucible including Abigail, John Proctor and Reverend Parris were defined by the many actions and dialogues throughout the play, the Crucible. We will write a custom essay sample on Reputation in the Crucible or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page A dialogue from Abigail reveals Arthur Millers’ insights on the role of reputation in the society of Salem. Abigail states, I want to open myself! I want the light of God; I want the sweet love of Jesus! I danced for the Devil; I saw him, I wrote in his book; I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil! (Miller Act I) This quote from Abigail raises her position in society. By Abigail, doing this, the other girls follow; believing this will raise them also in the social ranking of their society. After hearing Tituba confess to witchcraft, Abigail sees this as an opportunity to get herself out of the spotlight, even though she was with the other girls in the forest. After clearing her name, she wanted to move the blame on, she starts accusing falsely the other people of being witches. When this was done, the other girls followed because of the success she had. These girls all cared about their reputation. With their reputation, they believe it is a way out from being trailed as a witch, as everyone else in Salem wishes to do. Abigail caused enough trouble in the court room ruining others reputations in order to save her own, but at the same time risks her own reputation. John Proctor, a farmer who lives outside the town had an affair with Abigail who is just a teenager early on in the screenplay, and is frightened to expose such a thing; he is afraid his name will be ruined. Earlier on in the play, Proctor has a chance to put a stop to the girls being accused of witchcraft; instead he sought to preserve his reputation from testifying against Abigail and revealing his scandalous affair. Towards the end of the play The Crucible, Proctors desire to keep and maintain his good name; leads him to make a courageous choice, by not giving into a faulty confession which leads to his death. Proctor says to Danforth, â€Å"I have given you my soul; leave me my name! † (Miller Act IV) This quote shows that by Proctor refusing to give up or surrender his name and reputation, he redeems himself for his earlier failure and dies with integrity. John Proctor confirms his decision saying to himself in Act IV that he has given his soul and wants to at least keep his name. Proctor gives his last orders as to not destroy his name, because his name means so much to him. He would rather die than live with the rest of the town knowing that he was convicted of seeing the devil and being a witch. In Act II, Proctor says to Putnam, â€Å"You cannot command Mr. Parris. We vote by name in this society, not by acreage. † This quote demonstrates what a big role a person’s name in the society brings to the rest of the town of Salem. Acreage, money or land is usually a way to critique a person, but in Salem, someone’s name or part in society is what they are held as in the eyes of the people. If you have a good reputation then you stand high in the town, but if your reputation is bad and you are convicted of being a witch, that could damage your reputation and status severely. In Act II, Parris says, â€Å"Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character. I have given you a home, child, I have put clothes upon your back- now give me upright answer. Your name in the town- it is entirely white, is it not? This quote proves that once Parris’s authority started to increase, Abigail, his niece had to start trouble, causing many people to look at Parris differently and, causing his power in the society to decrease. Reputation led the Crucible’s many characters to resort to various actions and lies to retain their own character. The pressure of society put forth on the characters, caused a chain reaction of lie and deceit that caused the death of many people. The screenplay the Crucible, was therefore wrought with the theme of reputation as a leading factor in the development of the plotline and story.