Cooper pair
/ˈkuːpəpɛː
/noun Physics
1A loosely bound pair of electrons with opposite spins and moving with the same speed in opposite directions, held to be responsible for the phenomenon of superconductivity.In that model, pairs of electrons with opposite spin form so-called Cooper pairs with zero total spin....
- Electrons in these Cooper pairs have opposite values of momentum, meaning that the pairs themselves generally have zero orbital angular momentum.
- These electron pairs are called Cooper pairs, and as described by Schrieffer, they condense into a single state and flow as a totally directionless fluid.
1.1A loosely bound pair of atoms in a superfluid.Just as in Bose-Einstein condensation, the Cooper pairs can fall into a single quantum state and thus cause a phase transition to a superconducting or superfluid phase....
- Similarly, it is very unlikely for singlet superconductivity to appear in the ferromagnetic state because the exchange interaction forbids the formation of Cooper pairs.
- One potential source of such particles is the stream of conjoined electrons that exist in superconductors, but no one has been able to drive a wedge between these so-called Cooper pairs.
Origin
1960s: named after Leon N. Cooper (born 1930), American physicist.