The rise of the superconductors

Prologue The long road to the discovery of superconductivity Superconductivity reveals its mysteries The breakthrough to high temperature superconductivity Structure of the cuprates. CuO2 layers: the genie for high temperature superconductivity A diversion: quantum mechanics, atoms and the free electron theory of metals What causes superconductivity? The giant quantum state and Josephson effects Applications of superconductors: enabling technologies of the 21st century Electronic applications of high temperature superconductors Organic superconductors enter the race for the top The continuing search for the physical origin of high-temperature superconductivity Epilogue The way forward? References Subject Index