In collaboration with the Lorentz Center, Rijksmuseum Boerhaave will host this Lorentz Lecture about the -arguably still untapped- potential of superconductivity. The English lecture will be given by Jan Aarts.
Superconductivity is one of those physics phenomena that strongly appeal to the imagination. It is counterintuitive, as befits a phenomenon based on quantum mechanics; and it has the feel of a promising technology in such applications as transporting electricity or levitating trains. Still, the electrical cables and the hovertrains do not yet exist, and one might wonder what has happened in the superconductivity field since its accidental, and in a sense premature, discovery in 1911. In the lecture, an outline will be given of what we have learned in the last hundred-odd years, with five Nobel prizes along the way, and what fundamental questions are currently being researched; but also how science and technology have profited from superconductivity, and what still may be in store.
About the speaker
Jan Aarts is professor of experimental condensed matter physics at the Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, which is part of the Leiden Institute of Physics. He works on various aspects of superconductivity, in particular on finding unusual phenomena in ‘hybrid’ devices, where a superconductor is combined with a material with different properties, for instance a magnet.
This public lecture, which everybody is welcome to join, is part of the Lorentz Center workshop: Superconductivity in symmetry-broken and low-dimensional systems.
Practical information
Practical information
When: Wednesday the 12th of February 2025, the lecture will be from 17.00 to 18.00 hrs. From 18.00 to 19.00 hrs. there’s a chance to stick around and have a drink.
If you want to visit the museum we advise you to do so beforehand, the exhibit halls will close at 17.00 hrs.
Where: In the lecture hall of the museum
Language: English
Costs: Attending the lecture is free with a museum ticket (you can purchase a museum ticket at the museum desk, when you have a student card/Museumcard it’s completely free of charge.).
