Critical Temperature Measurements of Superconductors

and Their Dependence on Current

By Joseph Dotzel
With Jedidiah Riebling
Date: 3/6/2014
Abstract
In this paper we will explore the science behind superconductivity. We set out to
find three things in this experiment, to determine the critical temperature by using the
Meissner Effect, to determine the critical temperature by observing the resistance as a
function of temperature, and to determine the critical current density as a function of the
temperature. We were able to find the critical temperature of the two superconductors
Bi
2
Sr
2
Ca
2
Cu
3
O
9
and YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7
were respectively 110.616 21.8 kelvin and
87.4912.624 kelvin. Both were within 10% of the accepted values. We were also able
to plot the critical temperature vs. resistance at various currents, however due to large
error, were unable to calculate the critical current density.
Introduction
When a current is applied to conductor, that conductor will dissipate energy as
heat. This energy which is given off is determined by the electrical resistivity of the
Conductor. However, when certain conductors are brought below a certain temperature,
the critical temperature T
c
, this resistivity disappears. This phenomenon is known as
superconductivity.
The concept of superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by physicist Heike
Kamerlingh-Onnes. The understanding of super conductivity is still not fully explained
to this day, but the current accepted model involves bound pairs of electrons which
move through the superconductive materials without losing any energy.
Superconductivitys lack of a measurable resistance makes it a desirable technology for
current carrying wires, as the wires in use currently require a large voltage to overcome
the resistance of materials. However, currently the practical applications for
superconductors are minimal, as the superconductors must be kept at low temperatures
to perform properly. In addition to this problem, excess electrical current or magnetic
field strength can cause the conductor to stop acting as a superconductor.
12
In this experiment we will be using Bi
2
Sr
2
Ca
2
Cu
3
O
9
and YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7

superconductors and will have three goals. The first is to determine the critical
temperature by using the Meissner Effect. The second will be to determine the critical
temperature by observing the resistance as a function of temperature. The last is to
determine the critical current density as a function of the temperature. The rest of this
paper will cover the theory, experimental method, data, and conclusion of the
experiment.
Theory
In order to accomplish the first goal of this experiment, we will be using the
Meissner Effect. The Meissner effect was discovered by Robert Ochsenfeld and
Walther Meissner in 1933 and is the effect where, below critical temperature, a
superconductor will cancel out nearly all magnetic fields inside. The superconductor
accomplishes this by creating electrical currents near its surface which cancel any
magnetic fields within the superconductor. We will observe this visibly by placing a
magnet above the superconductor and using the phenomena of flux pinning. Flux
pinning occurs when magnetic lines of force from the magnet become trapped within the
superconductor. This occurs within the superconductor in defects and grain boundaries
where the Meissner effect does not occur properly. This causes the magnet to be held
in place above the superconductor
3,4
. With this background done we can now move on
to the procedure.

Figure 1: Meissner Effect

Experimental Method
In order to perform this experiment we will be using a Colorado Superconductor
kit, a DC current source 2 Multimeters, a four point hall probe, liquid nitrogen, a magnet,
and Bi
2
Sr
2
Ca
2
Cu
3
O
9
and YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7
high Tc superconductors. The experiment will be
set up as described in the Colorado Superconductor Experiment guide
5
(See Figure 2.)
The first part of the experiment was done by placing the probe with the superconductors
into liquid nitrogen and allowing them to cool until the liquid nitrogen stopped boiling. A
magnet was then placed above the superconductor and held by the flux pinning. A
thermocouple reading was then taken when the magnet was no longer suspended
above the superconductor. Five sets of data were taken for each superconductor.

Figure 2: 4 Point Probe Setup
The second part of the experiment was to measure the resistance as a function
of temperature over five different currents. To accomplish this, the superconductor was
again placed in liquid nitrogen and allowed to cool until the boiling stopped. It was then
removed from the liquid nitrogen, but was allowed to remain inside the insulated
container to cause it to heat at a slower rate. Using the high Tc Labview program, the
resistance as well as the thermocouple readings were recorded approximately every
100 ms, and the current was incremented by 0.1 amp intervals
6
.
Data and Analysis
For The determination of the critical temperature using the Meissner Effect, 10
Points of data were collected (table 1). The values were then averaged to get the critical
temperature for the respective superconductor.

Table 1: Critical Temperature using Meissner Effect
After averaging the values, we obtained a critical temperature of 110.616 21.864 for
the

sample and 87.4912.624 Kelvin for the YBa

2
Cu
3
O
7
sample.
Comparing to the accepted values of 108 Kelvin and 95 Kelvin respectively. Our
experimental values are a little off. This may be due to the unequal heating of
superconductors after cooling. By changing the location of the magnet, we could visibly
observe the Flux pinning effect disappear in one area of the superconductor while it was
still active in another. It could also be due to impurities within the superconductor which
could affect the behavior of the superconductor.
For the second part of the experiment we took five sets of data for each
superconductor. These five sets of data were taken at different currents varying from
0.1 amps to 0.5 amps. We then determined the critical temperature of each data set. To
do this, we graphed the data (figure 3) and observed the linear trends at the beginning
and the end of each graph. Where these linear trends changed we took those points to
be the beginning and end of the shift from a conductor to superconductor (figure 4). We
then averaged these points to get our critical temperatures at five different currents
(table 2).
Critical Temp Critical Temp
Bi
2
Sr
2
Ca
2
Cu
3
O
9
YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7
91.456 0.001 86.808 0.001
113.764 0.001 87.441 0.001
118.929 0.001 89.771 0.001
113.377 0.001 86.62 0.001
115.554 0.001 86.815 0.001

Figure 3: Temperature vs. Resistance

Figure 4: Critical Temperature Determination


Table 2: Critical Temperature vs. Current
The final goal of this experiment was to determine the critical current density of
each superconductor. To accomplish this we used the Critical Temperature vs. Current
information from table 2 and graphed the five points for each superconductor (figure 5).

Figure 5: Current vs. Critical Temperature
In order to find the critical current of each super conductor we must extrapolate the
trend line to 77 kelvin, the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Our two equations for these
graphs are for the Bi
2
Sr
2
Ca
2
Cu
3
O
9
sample and for the
Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O9 Critical Temperature YBa2Cu3O7 Critical Temperature
Current (Amps) Critical Temperature (k) Current (Amps) Critical Temperature (k)
0.1 1097.07 0.1 855.0
0.2 1015.00 0.2 863.6
0.3 1057.81 0.3 865.0
0.4 1108.49 0.4 863.6
0.5 10511.4 0.5 862.8
YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7
sample. Solving for Y at 77 kelvin gives us 0.30 amps and 0.21 amps for
the respective samples. We know for a fact that this is incorrect data because the
samples were still acting as a superconductor under that current. Given this we were
unable to determine the Critical current Density of the samples. We will justify the data
from figure 5 in the conclusion section.
The error of this experiment come first from the precision of the equipment we
used. From there we used standard error propagation to determine any error
propagation.
2 2
) ( ) ( B A C o o o + =
and
2 2 2
|
.
|

\
|
+ |
.
|

\
|
+ |
.
|

\
|
=
Z
Z
Y
Y
X
X
C
C o o o o

Where x y z , a b are your error terms of x y z, and a b and C is your final error.
For the averages we calculated in this experiment, we calculated the error as the
standard deviation of the data sets given by

Where N is the number of data points and is the average of the data set.
Conclusion
This experiment set out to complete three objectives, to determine the critical
temperature by using the Meissner Effect, to determine the critical temperature by
observing the resistance as a function of temperature, and to determine the critical
current density as a function of the temperature. In the end only two of these were
accomplished and with varying success. The critical temperature for our

sample fell within error bars, but the error bars were very large. The critical temperature
for our YBa
2
Cu
3
O
7
sample did not fall within our error bars. This being said, both
samples were within 10% of accepted values.
We also managed to find the critical temperature at various currents by
observing the resistance as a function of temperature. However, when the time came to
use this data to find the critical current density, we found the data was significantly
flawed. If we look at possible sources of error for this I believe the main source of error
is the lack purity of the superconductor. The impurity of the superconductor could cause
the transition period from normal conductor to superconductor to increase. This made
determining the critical temperature of the sample very imprecise. Other sources of
error could be unequal heating or cooling of the superconductor, making it hard to
ensure the data for each current was taken under the same conditions. In conclusion,
this experiment was still able to show many aspects of superconductivity, as well as the
difficulties involved.
References
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<https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Meissner_effect.html>.
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<http://superconductors.org/terms.htm>.
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<http://intro.phys.psu.edu/class/p457/experiments/html/hightcsuperconductors.html>.