Superconductor

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/superconductor

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Superconductor?1911
2. What is the discoverer?Heike Kamerlingh Onnes
3. What is the high-tc superconductors?Can operate using liquid nitrogen (77 K)
4. Why do superconductors have to be very cold?They only become superconducting when cooled to extremely low temperatures, like 4.2 Kelvin, because their resistance drops to zero only at those temperatures.
5. How did scientists first discover superconductivity?In 1911, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes cooled mercury with liquid helium and saw its resistance suddenly disappear.

Absolute Zero: The theoretical temperature at which all atomic motion ceases, approximately -273.15 °C.
Cooper Pairs: Pairs of electrons bound together by lattice vibrations, enabling superconductivity.
Critical Temperature (Tc): The temperature below which a material exhibits superconductivity.
Phonons: Quantized lattice vibrations that mediate electron pairing in conventional superconductors.