Word: belled
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Thus began a session of the American Physical Society's annual meeting that was so turbulent, so emotional and so joyous that the prestigious journal Science felt compelled to describe it as a "happening." AT&T Bell Laboratories Physicist Michael Schluter went even further, calling it the "Woodstock of physics." Indeed, at times it resembled a rock concert more than a scientific conference. Three thousand physicists tried to jam themselves into less than half that number of seats set up in the ballroom; the rest either watched from outside on television monitors or, to the dismay of the local fire...
Still, there are hints that some of the physical barriers, at least, are starting to fall. At the March meeting, scientists were already showing rings and flexible tapes made of high-temperature superconductors; by the end of the month, teams at IBM, Bell Labs, Toshiba, Argonne and a handful of other places were developing wire-thin ceramic rods. Says Toshiba's Horigami: "We weren't even sure this was possible. When we finally had a wire that could potentially be coiled, there was absolutely no way to measure our sense of triumph." Argonne Ceramist Roger Poeppel now talks of building...
Other scientists are seeking a better understanding of why the ceramics become superconductors. Many labs have taken pictures of the materials with electron microscopes, pulsed beams of neutrons, X rays and ultrasound. A team of Bell Labs and Arizona State scientists has produced electron-microscope photographs that show defects in the compound's crystalline structure. Says Team Leader Abbas Ourmazd: "We don't quite understand what role the defects play, but it raises some provocative questions. Is it the perfect material that is superconducting? Or is it the defects? If it turns out that it is the defects, then...
Those results suggest an intriguing possibility. Says Bell Labs' Penzias: "Transition temperatures have increased by a factor of four in the past year. If temperatures are raised by another factor of four in the same period of time, we'll have room-temperature superconductors in less than a year." Adds IBM's Praveen Chaudhari: "All the mental barriers are gone. No one is asking how high it will go anymore." If room-temperature superconductivity is achieved, whether in a year or in a score of years, its impact will be incalculable. The need for refrigerators and insulation, even for liquid...
...Seventh Bell(e) Part II--Mobius...