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Superconductivity

Hot vibes

Nature volume 442, pages 522–523 (2006)Cite this article

Lattice vibrations — phonons — have long been implicated in conventional low-temperature superconductivity. That they could also have a supporting role when the heat is turned up had been dismissed.

Just like Peter Sellers' hapless Hindu actor in the film The Party, the idea that vibrations of a solid's crystal lattice might be crucial in high-temperature superconductivity has been shot down a dozen times, only to rise defiantly again and again. This time, as Lee et al. report in this issue (page 546)1, our battered old friend might stay up, with powerful support from another quarter.

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Figure 1: Leading the quantum dance.

The Art Archive / Musée des Beaux Arts Rouen / Dagli Orti

Figure 2: Blurred impressions.

References

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  1. Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1600, Austin, 78712-0264, Texas, USA

    Alex de Lozanne

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  1. Alex de Lozanne
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de Lozanne, A. Hot vibes. Nature 442, 522–523 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/442522a

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