Conventional superconductors are materials that display
superconductivity
Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in certain materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor. Unlike ...
as described by
BCS theory
BCS theory or Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory (named after John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer) is the first microscopic theory of superconductivity since Heike Kamerlingh Onnes's 1911 discovery. The theory describes sup ...
or its extensions. This is in contrast to
unconventional superconductor
Unconventional superconductors are materials that display superconductivity which does not conform to either the conventional BCS theory or Nikolay Bogolyubov's theory or its extensions.
History
The superconducting properties of CeCu2Si2, a ty ...
s, which do not. Conventional superconductors can be either
type-I or
type-II.
Most
elemental
An elemental is a mythic being that is described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsus and his subsequent fo ...
superconductors are conventional. Niobium and vanadium are type-II, while most other elemental superconductors are type-I. Critical temperatures of some elemental superconductors:
Most compound and alloy superconductors are type-II materials. The most commonly used conventional superconductor in applications is a
niobium-titanium alloy - this is a type-II superconductor with a superconducting critical temperature of 11 K. The highest critical temperature so far achieved in a conventional superconductor was 39 K (-234 °C) in
magnesium diboride
Magnesium diboride is the inorganic compound with the formula MgB2. It is a dark gray, water-insoluble solid. The compound has attracted attention because it becomes superconductor, superconducting at 39 K (−234 °C). In terms of its ...
.
BKBO
Ba
0.6K
0.4BiO
3 is an unusual superconductor (a non-cuprate oxide) - but considered 'conventional' in the sense that the BCS theory applies.
References
Superconductors
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