Georg Bednorz

Georg Bednorz is a German physicist who shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics with K. Alex Müller for discovering superconductivity in ceramic materials at unusually high temperatures.

Connect

K. Alex Müller: Swiss physicist who shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering high-temperature superconductivity with Georg Bednorz. Müller proposed exploring superconductivity in oxide materials and collaborated with Bednorz on the discovery.
Superconductivity: A state in which a material has zero electrical resistance and expels magnetic fields below a critical temperature. Bednorz’s work identified superconductivity in materials operating at much higher temperatures than previously known.
Superconducting oxide: An oxide material that exhibits superconductivity below a transition temperature. Bednorz and Müller pursued oxides as a promising route beyond conventional superconductors.
1987 Nobel Prize in Physics: The Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Müller for discovering superconductivity in ceramic materials. The prize recognized their discovery less than a year after its announcement.
John Bardeen: American physicist who co-developed BCS theory and shared two Nobel Prizes in Physics. His theory shaped the conventional account of superconductivity that Bednorz and Müller challenged with their discovery.
Lanthanum barium copper oxide: A family of copper-oxide ceramic compounds that includes the first material found to superconduct above liquid-nitrogen temperature. Bednorz and Müller observed superconductivity in a lanthanum-barium-copper oxide compound.
Perovskite: A class of crystalline materials named for calcium titanate and defined by a characteristic crystal structure. Their search focused on oxide structures related to perovskites and their distorted forms.
High-temperature superconductivity: Superconductivity occurring at temperatures unusually high compared with earlier known superconductors. Bednorz and Müller’s result launched the modern study of high-temperature superconducting materials.
Walter Meissner: German physicist who co-discovered the magnetic-field expulsion now called the Meissner effect. The effect he discovered is a defining signature used to identify superconductivity.
Meissner effect: The expulsion of magnetic fields from a material as it enters the superconducting state. Magnetic-field expulsion distinguishes superconductivity from merely having low electrical resistance.