[HN Gopher] The Discovery of Superconductivity (2010)
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       The Discovery of Superconductivity (2010)
        
       Author : segfaultbuserr
       Score  : 43 points
       Date   : 2024-06-10 23:34 UTC (23 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (pubs.aip.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (pubs.aip.org)
        
       | ThrowawayTestr wrote:
       | Superconductivity is like anti-matter in that it really does like
       | science fiction when you first hear about it.
        
         | segfaultbuserr wrote:
         | Knowing superconductivity makes magnets less mysterious. Once
         | you accept that physics absolutely allows the creation of a
         | static magnetic field from a circulating current that flows
         | forever in a zero-resistance inductor coil, then the existence
         | of ferromagnetism is no stranger than that - to a first
         | approximation, it also comes from circulating currents, "just"
         | on a subatomic scale. [1] It's kind of surprising that the
         | _Atomic Current Hypothesis_ of ferromagnetism was already
         | proposed by Ampere back then. Following the same heuristics,
         | the fact also becomes clear that the energy in an inductor coil
         | can 't really be "spent" to do useful work forever without de-
         | energizing it, and the same is true for permanent magnets. [2]
         | 
         | [1] https://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/II_36.html
         | 
         | [2] This intuition debunks many types of incorrect "infinite
         | energy of magnets" ideas that lead to perpetual motion.
         | Although it can't debunk the "perpetual motion solely from an
         | uneven static (electromagnetic or gravitational) field" idea,
         | which is even older.
        
       | eternauta3k wrote:
       | I wonder what discoveries are taking place now which will give
       | people in 100 years the chills to read about.
        
         | pie420 wrote:
         | VR porn
        
           | dang wrote:
           | Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments and
           | flamebait? You've unfortunately been doing it repeatedly.
           | It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for.
           | 
           | If you wouldn't mind reviewing
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking
           | the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be
           | grateful.
        
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