Description:

 

Shortly after the discovery of superconductivity in 1911, many scientists believed that it would soon be possible to construct electromagnets that could generate high fields without the high power requirements of conventional resistive windings. Those hopes were, however, quickly dashed when it was discovered that the presence of magnetic fields of ~30 mT destroyed a material's ability to carry current without resistance. It would be another 25 years before researchers found materials such as PbTl2 that retained some ability to carry current without resistance in the presence of a magnetic field, and it was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that materials such as Nb3Sn and NbTi were developed into forms that would allow superconducting magnets to be manufactured commercially.

 

One of the first firms to take advantage of these developments was Oxford Instruments, which was formed in 1959 as the first spin-out company from the University of Oxford. Today, superconducting magnets have applications that range from the "big physics" of the Large Hadron Collider through to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines used in medical diagnosis, and producing or maintaining them is still very much a part of Oxford Instruments' activities.

 

 

Career Paths:

 

Superconductor Physics...

• ...allows you to enter a relatively undescovered and understudied area of physics that is new and exciting.

• ...could lead to careers in industry or governmental programs.

• ...could lead to areas of research to do with hover technology, and transport - such as bullet trains.

 

 

Education:

 

Superconductivity is such a new branch of physics that no universities currently offer the study of it. Instead most people wanting to study this first study an appropriate physics degree followed by a masters and then a PhD in a subject such as condensed matter or plasma physics. The easiest way to do this is to complete a 4 year degree with an integrated Masters qualification.

 

 

Average salary:

 

 The average salary for semiconductor physics jobs is £43,000. Average semiconductor physics salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits.