Superconductivity is one of the most exciting research fields in solid-state (condensed-matter) physics. The extensive research programmes address questions of both scientific interest and technological relevance. The picture on the left shows a magnet levitated over a superconductor. The superconductor acts as a magnetic mirror and repels the magnet, no matter what its orientation. The physics of superconductivity is studied in various ways, including by observing the change in the spin-direction of muons passed through the superconductors. The picture on the right shows the muon spin rotation (mSR) spectrometer used by the group at the international research facility ISIS.

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26 July 2002