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History of Superconductivity Timeline

(1911 – Present)

Superconductivity is the phenomenon in which certain materials conduct electricity with zero electrical resistance when cooled below a critical temperature. Discovered in 1911 by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, it has evolved through decades of theoretical breakthroughs—such as the BCS theory—and experimental advances like high-temperature superconductors, enabling technologies including MRI machines, maglev trains, and particle accelerators. Less

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Early Discoveries

Tesla patent on lowering resistance with temperature

Mar 21, 1900

On March 21, 1900, Nikola Tesla was granted a patent for the means for increasing the intensity of electrical oscillations by lowering the temperature, which was caused by lowered resistance.

Image source: Nikola Tesla

Tesla patent on lowering resistance with temperature

Onnes liquefies helium

Jul 10, 1908

A milestone was achieved on July 10, 1908, when Heike Kamerlingh Onnes at Leiden University in the Netherlands produced, for the first time, liquefied helium, which has a boiling point of 4.2 K (−269 °C) at atmospheric pressure.

Image source: Heike Kamerlingh Onnes

Onnes liquefies helium

Onnes publishes his research

Jan 1, 1911

Onnes disclosed his research in a paper titled "On the Sudden Rate at Which the Resistance of Mercury Disappears." He stated that the "specific resistance" became thousands of times less than that of the best conductor at ordinary temperature.

Discovery of superconductivity in mercury

Apr 8, 1911

On April 8, 1911, at 16:00 hours Onnes noted "Kwik nagenoeg nul", which translates as "[Resistance of] mercury almost zero." At the temperature of 4.19 K, he observed that the resistivity abruptly disappeared, marking the discovery of superconductivity.

Image source: Superconductivity

Discovery of superconductivity in mercury

"Supraconductivity" named and Nobel Prize awarded to Onnes

Jan 1, 1913

Initially, Onnes called the phenomenon "supraconductivity" and only later adopted the term "superconductivity." For his research, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913.

Image source: Nobel Prize in Physics

"Supraconductivity" named and Nobel Prize awarded to Onnes

Applications

Onnes tests usability of superconductivity

Jan 1, 1912

In 1912, Onnes conducted an experiment on the usability of superconductivity, exploring practical uses of the newly discovered phenomenon.

Onnes attempts a superconducting electromagnet

Jan 1, 1913

Soon after discovering superconductivity, Kamerlingh Onnes attempted to make an electromagnet with superconducting windings but found that relatively low magnetic fields destroyed superconductivity in the materials he investigated.

Image source: Superconducting magnet

Onnes attempts a superconducting electromagnet

Yntema builds first useful superconducting magnet

Jan 1, 1955

George Yntema succeeded in constructing a small 0.7-tesla iron-core electromagnet with superconducting niobium wire windings, decades after Onnes's failed early attempts.

Niobium-titanium alloys shown suitable for high-field magnets

Jan 1, 1962

Ted Berlincourt and Richard Hake discovered that less brittle alloys of niobium and titanium are suitable for applications up to 10 teslas, paving the way for practical superconducting magnets.

Image source: Niobium–titanium

Niobium-titanium alloys shown suitable for high-field magnets

Conectus estimates $5 billion superconductivity market

Jan 1, 2014

Conectus, a European consortium for superconductivity, estimated that global economic activity for which superconductivity was indispensable amounted to about five billion euros, with MRI systems accounting for about 80% of that total.

Image source: Magnetic resonance imaging

Conectus estimates $5 billion superconductivity market

Materials and New Superconductors

Lead found superconducting at 7 K

Jan 1, 1913

In subsequent decades, superconductivity was found in several other materials besides mercury. In 1913, lead was discovered to be superconducting at 7 K.

Image source: Lead

Lead found superconducting at 7 K

Niobium found superconducting at 10 K

Jan 1, 1930 - Dec 31, 1939

During the 1930s, niobium was found to be superconducting at 10 K, expanding the family of known superconducting elements.

Image source: Niobium

Niobium found superconducting at 10 K

Shubnikov discovers type-II superconductors

Jan 1, 1937

Lev Shubnikov discovered a new type of superconductors, later called type-II superconductors, which presented a mixed phase between ordinary and superconductive properties.

Image source: Type-II superconductor

Shubnikov discovers type-II superconductors

Niobium nitride found superconducting at 16 K

Jan 1, 1941

In 1941, niobium nitride was found to be superconducting at 16 K, pushing the known critical temperature higher.

Image source: Niobium nitride

Niobium nitride found superconducting at 16 K

Matthias' rules formulated

Jan 1, 1954

Based on his experience finding new superconductors, Bernd Matthias came up with Matthias' rules, a set of empirical guidelines on how to find new types of superconductors.

Image source: Bernd T. Matthias

Matthias' rules formulated

Nb3Ge sets record critical temperature of 23 K

Jan 1, 1973

Nb3Ge was found to have a transition temperature (Tc) of 23 K, which remained the highest ambient-pressure Tc until the discovery of the cuprate high-temperature superconductors in 1986.

Organic superconductors discovered

Jan 1, 1979

Organic superconductors were discovered, the second of two new classes of superconductors that could not be explained by conventional BCS theory.

Image source: Organic superconductor

Organic superconductors discovered

Heavy fermion superconductors discovered

Jan 1, 1979

One of two new classes of superconductors discovered that could not be explained by BCS theory: heavy fermion superconductors, whose electrons behave as if they have very large effective masses.

High-temperature superconductivity in lanthanum cuprate

Jan 1, 1986

Alex Müller (with Georg Bednorz) discovered superconductivity in a lanthanum-based cuprate perovskite material with a transition temperature of 35 K—the first of the high-temperature superconductors.

Image source: High-temperature superconductivity

High-temperature superconductivity in lanthanum cuprate

Bednorz and Müller win Nobel Prize

Jan 1, 1987

For the discovery of superconductivity in a lanthanum-based cuprate perovskite material, Alex Müller shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1987.

Image source: K. Alex Müller

Bednorz and Müller win Nobel Prize

Magnesium diboride found superconducting at 39 K

Mar 1, 2001

Superconductivity of magnesium diboride (MgB2) was found with Tc = 39 K, a surprisingly high transition temperature for a simple compound.

Image source: Magnesium diboride

Magnesium diboride found superconducting at 39 K

Iron-based superconductors discovered

Jan 1, 2008

The oxypnictide or iron-based superconductors were discovered, leading to a flurry of work in the hope that studying them would provide insights into a theory of the cuprate superconductors.

Image source: Iron-based superconductor

Iron-based superconductors discovered

Transient room-temperature superconductivity achieved in YBCO

Jan 1, 2013

Room-temperature superconductivity was attained in YBCO for picoseconds, using short pulses of infrared laser light to deform the material's crystal structure.

Image source: Yttrium barium copper oxide

Transient room-temperature superconductivity achieved in YBCO

Theoretical Advances

Discovery of the Meissner effect

Jan 1, 1933

Walther Meissner and Robert Ochsenfeld discovered that superconductors expelled applied magnetic fields, a phenomenon that has come to be known as the Meissner effect.

Image source: Meissner effect

Discovery of the Meissner effect

London brothers explain the Meissner effect

Jan 1, 1935

Brothers Fritz London and Heinz London showed that the Meissner effect was a consequence of the minimization of the electromagnetic free energy carried by superconducting current.

Ginzburg–Landau theory devised

Jan 1, 1950

The phenomenological Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductivity was devised by Lev Landau and Vitaly Ginzburg, providing a powerful framework for describing superconducting phenomena.

Image source: Ginzburg–Landau theory

Ginzburg–Landau theory devised

Isotope effect discovered

May 15, 1950

Emanuel Maxwell and, almost simultaneously, C.A. Reynolds discovered the isotope effect in superconductors, showing that the critical temperature depends on isotopic mass—a key clue toward the microscopic mechanism of superconductivity.

Image source: Kinetic isotope effect

Isotope effect discovered

BCS theory proposed

Jan 1, 1957

The complete microscopic theory of superconductivity was finally proposed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon N. Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer, explaining superconductivity through Cooper pairing of electrons.

Image source: BCS theory

BCS theory proposed

Bogolyubov puts BCS theory on firmer footing

Jan 1, 1958

Nikolay Bogolyubov showed that the BCS wavefunction, originally derived from a variational argument, could be obtained using a canonical transformation of the electronic Hamiltonian.

Image source: Nikolay Bogolyubov

Bogolyubov puts BCS theory on firmer footing

Gor'kov links BCS and Ginzburg–Landau theories

Jan 1, 1959

Lev Gor'kov showed that the BCS theory reduced to the Ginzburg–Landau theory close to the critical temperature, unifying the two major theoretical approaches.

Little–Parks effect discovered

Jan 1, 1962

The Little–Parks effect was discovered in experiments with empty and thin-walled superconducting cylinders subjected to a parallel magnetic field, demonstrating flux quantization.

Image source: Little–Parks effect

Little–Parks effect discovered

Josephson predicts the Josephson effect

Jan 1, 1962

Brian Josephson made the important theoretical prediction that a supercurrent can flow between two pieces of superconductor separated by a thin layer of insulator—the basis of the Josephson junction.

Image source: Brian Josephson

Josephson predicts the Josephson effect

Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer win Nobel Prize

Jan 1, 1972

For their work on the BCS theory, John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and John Schrieffer were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972.

Image source: John Bardeen

Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer win Nobel Prize

Josephson wins Nobel Prize

Jan 1, 1973

Brian Josephson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his prediction of the supercurrent tunneling through an insulating barrier between superconductors.

Image source: Josephson effect

Josephson wins Nobel Prize

Abrikosov and Ginzburg win Nobel Prize

Jan 1, 2003

Alexei Abrikosov and Vitaly Ginzburg were awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics for their pioneering work on superconductivity theory (Lev Landau having died in 1968).

Image source: Vitaly Ginzburg

Abrikosov and Ginzburg win Nobel Prize

Key Facts

  1. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity in 1911 at Leiden University while studying the properties of mercury cooled to near absolute zero, earning him the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  2. The Meissner effect, discovered in 1933 by Walther Meissner and Robert Ochsenfeld, showed that superconductors expel magnetic fields—a defining property that distinguishes them from perfect conductors.
  3. In 1957, John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer developed the BCS theory, explaining conventional superconductivity through electron pairing (Cooper pairs), and won the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  4. In 1986, Georg Bednorz and Karl Müller discovered high-temperature superconductivity in copper-oxide ceramics (cuprates), breaking the previous temperature record and opening new research frontiers.
  5. Modern applications of superconductors include MRI scanners, maglev trains, particle accelerators like the LHC, and promising uses in quantum computing and lossless power transmission.

Source

This History of Superconductivity timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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