We give a brief review of superconductivity at ambient pressure in elements,
alloys, and simple three-dimensional compounds. Historically these were the
first superconducting materials studied, and based on the experimental
knowledge gained from them the BCS theory of superconductivity was developed in
1957. Extended to include the effect of phonon retardation, the theory is
believed to describe the subset of superconducting materials known as
`conventional superconductors', where superconductivity is caused by the
electron-phonon interaction. These include the elements, alloys and simple
compounds discussed in this article and several other classes of materials
discussed in other articles in this Special Issue.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physica C, Special Issue on
Superconducting Material
We have determined the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the electronic heat-capacity coefficient y of transforming Nb3Sn through measurements of the superconducting transition temperature T"the temperature derivative of the upper critical field near T"and the residual resistivity. We find that y and the bare density of electronic states are suppressed by pressure. Results are discussed in terms of a pressure-dependent d-band occupancy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.