Superconductivity: the Meissner Effect and Cooper Pairs · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

The metal that throws magnets out

Science · Matter & Materials · ages 23-24
Name ______________________   Date ____________
  1. What shares one quantum state?

    • Lone unpaired ions
    • The thermometers
    • The Cooper pairs
  2. What happens to flux inside a superconductor?

    • It is frozen in place
    • It is expelled
    • It doubles in strength
  3. The Meissner effect is more than just zero resistance.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. How does pairing survive the repulsion between electrons?

    • Repulsion switches off in winter
    • Turn-taking avoids head-on meeting
    • Electrons stop having charge
  5. Cool a perfect conductor in a field. What happens to the field?

    • Trapped inside
    • It is expelled at once
    • It turns into current
  6. Why do ordinary bumps not scatter the pairs?

    • Pairs hide under the Fermi level
    • Bumps are forbidden by law
    • They cannot pay the gap energy
  7. A student says the gap causes pairing. What is backwards?

    • Gaps forbid all pairing
    • Pairing opens the gap
    • Pairs destroy all gaps
  8. A metal shows zero resistance but traps an applied field. Superconductor?

    • Not by this test
    • Yes, resistance is the only test
    • Yes, trapping proves everything
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The metal that throws magnets out W1-mt_2H9bAiAAUV-s1

  1. The Cooper pairs · Pairs share the state.
  2. It is expelled · Expulsion is the Meissner claim.
  3. True · Expelling beats merely freezing.
  4. Turn-taking avoids head-on meeting · Turn-taking dodges the head-on clash.
  5. Trapped inside · Perfect conduction freezes flux.
  6. They cannot pay the gap energy · The gap prices out small knocks.
  7. Pairing opens the gap · Pairs first, gap second, protection third.
  8. Not by this test · Expulsion is the deciding test.
Worksheet · LightMySky