BCS: 50 YEARS

by Leon Cooper (Editor), Dmitri Feldman (Editor)

Named a Top Five Book of 2011 by Physics Today, USA.'... the editors deserve praise for the selection of topics and for enlisting a distinguished set of authors. 50 Years is a successful attempt to capture the history of the development of superconductivity theory and its continuing impact. Any person curious about superconductivity will find something in this book to enjoy.'Physics TodayThe BCS theory of superconductivity developed in 1957 by Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer has been remarkably successful in explaining the properties of superconductors. In addition, concepts from BCS have been incorporated into diverse fields of physics, from nuclear physics and dense quark matter to the current standard model. Practical applications include SQUIDs, magnetic resonance imaging, superconducting electronics and the transmission of electricity. This invaluable book is a compilation of both a historical account and a discussion of the current state of theory and experiment.With contributions from many prominent scientists, it aims to introduce students and researchers to the origins, the impact and the current state of the BCS theory.

588 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2010

About the author

Leon N. Cooper was an American physicist and professor of Brown University. His name is associated with his work on superconductivity and neuroscience. He proposed the Cooper pair mechanism in 1956 and in 1972 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics with John Bardeen and John Robert Schrieffer for the development of the BCS theory of superconductivity.
In neuroscience, Cooper co-developed the BCM theory of synaptic plasticity.