Researchers peg magnetism as key driver of high-temperature superconductivity

When it comes to superconductivity, magnetic excitations may top good vibrations. Writing in the July 6, 2006, issue of Nature, scientists working at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research in collaboration with physicists from the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory report strong evidence that magnetic fluctuations are key to a universal mechanism for pairing electrons and enabling resistance-free passage of electric current in high-temperature superconductors.