Meissner effect

American  

[mahys-ner] / ˈmaɪs nər /

noun

Physics.

1. the loss of magnetism that a superconductor displays when cooled to its transition temperature in a magnetic field.

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Meissner effect British  

/ ˈmaɪsnə /

noun

1. physics the phenomenon in which magnetic flux is excluded from a substance when it is in a superconducting state, except for a thin layer at the surface

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Etymology

Origin of Meissner effect

After German physicist Fritz Walther Meissner (1882–1974), who contributed to a description of the effect in 1933

Example Sentences

This so-called critical current behavior and the Meissner effect are the two key features of superconductors.

From Science Daily • Nov. 13, 2023

This measurement is important because it indicates one sign of a superconductor: the ability to expel a magnetic field, a phenomenon called the Meissner effect.

From Scientific American • Mar. 10, 2023

He focused on the measurements that Dr. Dias’s group had made of the response of the carbon-sulfur-hydrogen compound to oscillating magnetic fields, evidence of the Meissner effect.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2023

The result: the first ever evidence of the Meissner effect in hydrides, which the team calls “unambiguous evidence” that superconductivity in hydrides is real.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 21, 2021

Defined as the exclusion of a neighboring magnetic field, the Meissner effect can be demonstrated by the ability of a superconductor to suspend a magnet in midair.

From Time Magazine Archive