Superconductivity Superconductivity Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic flux fields occurring in certain materials, called superconductors, when cooled below a characteristic critical temperature. It was discovered by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911, in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum mechanical phenomenon. It is characterized by the Meissner effect, the complete ejection of magnetic field lines from the interior of the superconductor during its transitions into the superconducting state. The occurrence of the Meissner effect indicates that superconductivity cannot be understood simply as the idealization of
Physical chemistry of the cornerstones of physical chemistry, such as Gibbs energy, chemical potentials, and Gibbs' phase rule. Other milestones include the subsequent naming and accreditation of enthalpy to Heike Kamerlingh Onnes and to macromolecular processes. The first scientific journal specifically in the field of physical chemistry was the German journal, "Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie", founded in 1887 by Wilhelm Ostwald and Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff. Together with Svante August Arrhenius, these were the leading figures in physical chemistry in the late 19th century and early 20th century. All three were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry between 1901–1909. Developments in