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Superconducters are materials that conduct electricity with little or no resistance.
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∙ 11y ago
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The lowest temperature a superconducter can work at?
0oK, or absolute zero is the lowest temperature. Superconductors have a critical temperature at which they begin to work, but it is the highest temperature, and they function as superconductors at any temperature lower, down to as close to absolute zero as they can be made to be (absolute zero is unachievable).
Does an insulator become a superconducter at absolute zero?
No, only certain materials can become superconductors. These materials form Cooper Pairs with their conduction band electrons at low temperature, making the electrons coherent (analogous to photons in a LASER beam). This coherence prevents resistance to current flow. Most insulators lack conduction band electrons. High temperature copper oxide ceramic superconductors are an exception as they lack conduction band electrons, but their copper oxide structure is highly distorted in a way that allows bound electrons to form Cooper Pairs.
What are some properties of fullerene?
diamonds form a 3 dimensional lattice. they also have have four bonds per atom. This makes a very strong material. graphite forms a 2 dimensional lattice. it has 3 bonds per atoms (the fourth bond is added to the other three making partial double bonds). it forms sheets. it has excellent 2-d strength: it is what is used in carbon fibers. it also is an excellent lubricant because the sheets slide on one another. fullerenes are like graphite, but the small sheets are wrapped up into small balls or tubes. this gives them 3 d strength on a nano scale. But they lack large scale 3d properties.
What happens to the resistance of a superconducter when its temperature drops below the critical temperature?
It becomes exactly zero, so long as certain conditions are met. Namely no strong external magnetic fields. Some superconducting materials exhibit a transition region in between super- and normal-conducting modes, although resistance here is still very close to 0; crossing the critical temperature is still accompanied by a discontinuous drop in resistance.
