Features
- Cover Type: Paperback
- Published by: Touchstone Books March 1990
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0671695991
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0671695996
-
Book Dimensions:
8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 10.4 ounces
Product Description
Since 1987, stories about superconductivity have regularly appeared on the front pages of newspapers. A breakthrough by two physicists at IBM's Zurich laboratory suddenly transformed what had long been considered an unrewarding backwater of physics into a glamorous and trendy scienrific frontier. A stunning series of discoveries followed that promised to propel the world into a science-fiction future of flying trains, cheap energy and lightning-fast computers. In record time, the IBM physicists received the Nobel Prize. This is the story of what has been called the most important scientific discovery of the last twenty years. The author interviews important figures in the rapidly developing and intensely competitive field of high-temperature superconductivity. Schechter also analyzes the conflicting US and Japanese commercial interests in the new technology, which promises to be an arena for internaitonal economic comptetition. Bruce Schechter has written for "Discover" magazine, "Technology Illustrated" and "Physics Today".
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Path of No Resistance: The Story of the Revolution in Superconductivity (Hardcover)
This is a witty and interesting history of one of the more popularly known, if not as widely valued or understood, triumphs of modern science. The story behind this story is actually more interesting than the story itself. That is, the people and events that lead to the breakthrough of higher-temperature superconductors are surprisingly human and, therefore, more easily appreciated by those of us who are not cryogenics physicists. The author has an engaging style and, but for a short section that slightly over-applauds the Japanese, recites the facts without ever lecturing. A really fun read for anyone who likes behind-the-scenes science books.
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