Self Assessment Quiz


1. How would you determine the variation of critical field from resistivity measurements ?




2. How can the superconducting condensation energy be estimated from resistivity measurements ?




3. If one measures the resistivity of a sample and finds that it becomes zero below a certain temperature can one conclude that the sample exhibits superconductivity ?




4. The Meissner fraction for a sample is found to be 50%. To what susceptibility (in dimensionless units) does this correspond ?




5. The Meissner fraction is found to be less than 100%. What could be the reasons for this ?


6. For a superconductor, why is the heat capacity expected to decreases exponentially with temperature below $T_{\mathrm{c}}$?



7. In case of nodes in the gap (existence of points in $k$-space where the gap becomes zero), what is the effect on the temperature dependence of the heat capacity ?


8. What are the advantages of local probe techniques such as NMR and muSR over measurement of bulk properties such as resistivity and heat capacity?


9. What type of information is obtained from photoemission studies ?