London penetration depth

E48480

The London penetration depth is a characteristic length scale in superconductors that measures how far an external magnetic field can penetrate into the material before being exponentially screened.


Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf characteristic length scale
physical quantity
superconductivity concept
appearsIn Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductivity
appliesTo superconductor
assumes local electrodynamics in London theory
canBeMeasuredBy magnetization measurements
microwave resonator techniques
muon spin rotation
optical reflectivity
tunnel diode resonator method
characterizes exponential decay of magnetic field
definedAs distance over which magnetic field decays by factor e in a superconductor
dependsOn charge of Cooper pairs
effective mass of Cooper pairs
superfluid density
describes magnetic field penetration in superconductors
divergesAt critical temperature
entersExpression screening current density in superconductors
fieldOfStudy condensed matter physics
low-temperature physics
hasAlternativeSymbol λ_L
hasDimension length
hasSymbol λ
increasesWith temperature
isLargerFor dirty or disordered superconductors
isShorterThan skin depth in normal metals at low frequencies
isSmallerFor materials with higher superfluid density
measuredIn angstrom
meter
nanometer
namedAfter Fritz London
Heinz London
occursInEquation B(x) = B(0) exp(-x / λ)
partOfTheory London equations
relatedByFormula λ^2 = m / (μ0 n_s q^2) in London theory
relatedTo Meissner effect
coherence length
magnetic susceptibility of superconductors
superconducting energy gap via temperature dependence
symbolUses m for effective mass in its formula
n_s for superfluid carrier density in its formula
q for carrier charge in its formula
μ0 for vacuum permeability in its formula
temperatureDependent true
typicalMagnitude hundreds of nanometers for high-temperature superconductors
tens of nanometers for conventional superconductors
usedIn classification of type I and type II superconductors
usedToDefine Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductivity
surface form: Ginzburg–Landau parameter

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Meissner effect relatedConcept London penetration depth