Friction: Suppression of electronic friction on niobium-films below critical temperature
Monday, January 10, 2011 - 08:31
in Physics & Chemistry
Is friction dominated by electrons or by lattice vibrations? A nano-contact experiment shows that on a niobium (Nb) surface friction drops by a factor of three when crossing the superconductivity transition, showing that it has essentially an electronic nature in the metallic state, whereas the phononic contribution dominates in the superconducting state.