Includes bibliographical references (pages 431-470) and index.

1. Onnes' discovery and one hundred years of superconductors. Onnes' discovery -- One hundred years of superconductors -- Progress with LTS and HTS applications -- This book -- Summary -- 2. The superconducting state. Electrical conduction in metals and the origin of resistance -- Microscopic nature of superconducting state -- Summary -- Appendix 2A. BCS ground state and the energy gap -- 3. The superconducting transition and its basic phenomenology. Fundamental characteristics of the superconducting transition -- The critical field Hc -- The critical current -- Resistive transition -- Implications of perfect conductivity -- Meissner--Ochsenfeld effect -- London phenomenology -- Penetration depth -- Departing current density -- Shortcomings of the London phenomenology -- Intermediate state -- Filamentary superconductors and Mendelssohn's sponge -- Range of coherence and non-local theory -- Interface boundary energy -- Summary -- Appendix 3A. Electrodynamics of a perfect conductor and London phenomenology --

4. Thermodynamics and general properties. Thermodynamic aspects of the transition -- Thermal properties -- Ultrasonic behaviour -- AC and optical properties -- Tunnelling in the superconducting state -- Summary -- Appendix 4A. Condensation energy -- Entropy -- Heat capacity -- 5. Advent of type II superconductors. Ginzburg--Landau phenomenology -- Sign of the surface energy and superconductor types -- Mixed state and other characteristics -- Summary -- Appendix 5A. Ginzburg--Landau equations -- 6. Critical current and flux pinning. Transport current in the mixed state -- Driving force and the critical state -- Vortex motion -- Stabilisation of superconductors -- Pinning centres -- Pinning interactions -- AC losses -- Summary -- 7. Superconductors in abundance. Low-temperature superconductors (LTS) -- High-temperature superconductors (HTS) -- Summary -- 8. Niobium--zirconium and niobium--titanium alloys. The niobium--zirconium system -- The niobium--titanium system -- Summary --

9. A-15 superconductors. Crystal structure, stoichiometry, and ordering -- Long-range order and Tc -- Structural instability at low temperature -- Potential binary systems -- Pseudo-binaries -- A-15 phase formation -- Upper critical field and paramagnetic limitation -- Critical current density and the nature of pinning centres in A-15s -- Strain sensitivity -- Summary -- 10. Conductor development of A-15 superconductors. Liquid-solute diffusion -- CVD process -- The bronze process and formation of A-15 phase by solid state diffusion -- Thermodynamics and kinetics of compound-layer formation in the bronze process -- Modifications of the bronze process -- Fabrication of Nb3Al conductor -- Summary -- 11. Chevrel-phase superconductors. Crystal structure and stoichiometry -- Occurrence of superconductivity in Chevrel phases -- Synthesis of bulk samples -- Upper critical field -- Critical current density : inherent problems and progress in raisingJc -- Conductor development of Chevrel-phase compounds -- Nature of superconductivity of Chevrel-phase compounds -- Summary -- 12. Rare-earth-based ternary superconductors and quaternary borocarbides. LTS systems with magnetic order -- The interplay -- Various ternary materials and their interplay behaviour -- Quaternary borocarbides -- Crystal structure and related aspects -- Coexistence and interplay of Tc and Tm -- Summary --

13. Heavy fermion superconductors. Discovery of HF superconductors -- Quantum phase transition and quantum critical point -- General features of anomalous normal state and unusual superconductivity -- Short description of various HF superconductors -- Special features of HF superconductors -- Summary -- 14. Organic superconductors. Evolution of organic superconducting salts -- The (TM)2 family of quasi-one-dimensional superconductors -- The (ET)2 family of quasi-two-dimensional superconductors -- Superconducting fullerides -- Graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) -- Summary -- 15. Superconducting magnesium diboride. Crystal structure and Tc -- Conventional superconductivity of MgB2 -- Band structure and two superconducting gaps -- Implications of two gaps -- MgB2 for practical applications -- Material synthesis -- Nanoparticle doping for enhancingJc -- Conductor development : wires and tapes of MgB2 -- Summary -- 16. High-temperature cuprate superconductors. Genesis of HTS cuprates -- General features of HTS cuprates -- Prominent HTS cuprate systems -- Substitution studies in HTS -- Summary --

17. Thin-film technology and conductor development of HTS cuprates. Microstructural aspects -- Prominent techniques for depositing HTS films -- Conductor development -- Summary -- 18. Bulk HTS cuprates. General considerations -- Melt processing of bulk YBCO samples -- Effective pinning centres in bulk HTS -- Ternary 123 bulk compounds -- Trapped field -- Mechanical strengthening -- Summary -- 19. Ruthenates and ruthenocuprates. A superconductor in the ruthenate family : Sr2RuO4 -- Unconventional superconductivity -- Summary of the current status of ruthenate superconductors -- Superconducting ruthenocuprates -- Superconductivity, general features -- Magnetic states and coexistence of TM and Tc -- Cationic substitutions in Ru-1212 and Ru-1222, effect on Tc and TM -- Summary -- 20. Iron-based superconductors. Different FBS families, their crystal structures, and their general features -- Electronic structure -- Phase diagrams -- Unconventional superconductivity of FBS -- Materials synthesis -- Upper critical field, anisotropy, and potential for applications -- Summary -- 21. Miscellaneous superconductors. Superconducting bismuthates -- Cobalt oxide hydrate -- Intermetallic perovskites free from oxygen : MgCNi3 and related superconducting compounds -- Metallonitride halides -- Pyrochlore oxides -- Layered transition metal chalcogenides -- BiS2-based superconductors.

"Superconductors is neither about basic aspects of superconductivity nor about its applications, but its main focus is on superconducting materials themselves. Unusual and unconventional features of a large variety of novel superconductors are presented and their technological potential as practical superconductors assessed. The presentation is readily accessible to readers from a diverse range of scientific and technical disciplines, such as metallurgy, materials science, materials engineering, electronic and device engineering, and chemistry. The derivation of mathematical formulas and equations has been kept to a minimum and, wherever necessary, short appendices with essential mathematics have been added at the end of the text. The book is not meant to serve as an encyclopaedia, describing each and every superconductor that exists, but focuses on important milestones in their exciting development."--