Possible High Tc Superconductivity in the Ba-La-Cu-O System*J.G. Bednorz, K.A. MullerImpactSuperconductivity blasted to the forefront of public attention and became a hot topic in scientific researchSubsequent superconductivity research heavy hitters: Tony Leggett, Bob Schrieffer, Karl Mueller, Phil Anderson, Bob Laughlin, Alexei Abrikosov

Superconducting Transition Temperature TimelineFour point resistivity measurementJahn-Teller Distortion of an octahedral lattice. By Jahn-Teller theorem, the lattice distorts to break the degeneracy.*Bednorz, J. G. and Mller, K. A., Zeitschrift fr Physik B, 64(2) 193 (1986) Conclusions

Conventional BCS predicts Tc < 30 K Clearly not the case for cupratesMechanism for electron-electron coupling Still not clear from these resultsWe are still far from a theory of high temperature superconductivity

*