Superconductivity is a phenomenon that occurs when a material's electrical resistance drops to zero and it becomes able to conduct electricity without any loss of energy. This makes superconductors ideal for a variety of applications, such as high-speed trains, medical imaging, and particle accelerators.
However, one of the challenges of using superconductors is that they are very sensitive to their environment. Even a small change in temperature or magnetic field can cause a superconductor to lose its superconducting properties. This makes it difficult to control the flow of electricity in superconductors.
The team of researchers from KIT and Forschungszentrum Jülich has discovered a way to overcome this challenge. They found that they could switch superconductivity on and off in a superconductor by applying a voltage to the material. This voltage causes the superconductor to undergo a phase transition, which changes its electronic structure and turns it into a normal conductor.
The researchers believe that their discovery could lead to new ways to control the flow of electricity in electronic devices. For example, it could be used to create switches that can operate at very high speeds or to develop new types of transistors.
"Our discovery has the potential to revolutionize the way we think about superconductors," said Professor Oliver Rader, one of the lead researchers on the study. "We believe that it could open up new possibilities for their use in a wide variety of applications."
