Superconducting Transition in Aluminum

Abstract

Techniques have been developed which make it possible to examine the detailed properties of the superconducting transition under rigorously isothermal conditions down to temperatures of about 0.8°K. The superconducting behavior of an accurately ellipsoidal single crystal of pure aluminum has been studied by using a high-precision ballistic induction method which is particularly well suited for studying the reversibility of the transition. The problem of accurately determining the thermodynamic critical field, $H_c$, from magnetic induction measurements is discussed.