The Bohr superconductor

Abstract

Superconductors have often been described as `giant atoms'. The simplest description of atoms that heralded their quantum understanding was proposed by Bohr in 1913. The Bohr atom starts from some simple assumptions and deduces that the angular momentum of the electron in Bohr orbits is quantized in integer units of $\hslash$. This remarkable result, which does not appear to be implicit in the assumptions of the model, can be interpreted as a `theoretical proof' of the model's validity to describe physical reality at some level. Similarly we point out here that from some simple assumptions it can be deduced that electrons in superconductors reside in mesoscopic orbits with orbital angular momentum $\hslash /2$. This implies that both in superconductors and in ferromagnets the long-range order results from elementary units of identical angular momentum. Similarly to the case of the Bohr atom we propose that this remarkable result is compelling evidence that this physics, which is not part of conventional BCS theory, describes physical reality at some level and heralds a qualitatively new understanding of superconductors.

References in corpus (11)

• Spin Meissner Effect in Superconductors and the Origin of the Meissner Effect
• The missing angular momentum of superconductors
• Kinetic energy driven superconductivity, the origin of the Meissner effect, and the reductionist frontier
• Spin-split states in aromatic molecules and superconductors
• Hole core in superconductors and the origin of the Spin Meissner effect
• Dynamics of the normal-superconductor phase transition and the puzzle of the Meissner effect
• On the dynamics of the Meissner effect
• Charge expulsion, Spin Meissner effect, and charge inhomogeneity in superconductors
• Correcting 100 years of misunderstanding: electric fields in superconductors, hole superconductivity, and the Meissner effect
• Why holes are not like electrons. IV. Hole undressing and spin current in the superconducting state
• Absence of Josephson coupling between certain superconductors

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Momentum of superconducting electrons and the explanation of the Meissner effect
• On the reversibitity of the Meissner effect and the angular momentum puzzle
• The disappearing momentum of the supercurrent in the superconductor to normal phase transformation
• Entropy generation and momentum transfer in the superconductor-normal and normal-superconductor phase transformations and the consistency of the conventional theory of superconductivity
• Defying inertia: how rotating superconductors generate magnetic fields
• Moment of inertia of superconductors
• Spinning superconductors and ferromagnets
• How Alfven's theorem explains the Meissner effect
• Megascopic Quantum Phenomena. A Critical Study of Physical Interpretations