Electrodynamics of Superconductors

Electrodynamics of Superconductors” by Vladimir Kozhevnikov will prove to be an excellent source for all students and researchers in the field of conventional and unconventional superconductivity. It represents a carefully documented description of the electromagnetic and thermodynamic properties of these fascinating materials. Incorporating both the early history and more recent developments of the field, the author presents an amusing and at times witty narrative of the fundamental concepts without overwhelming math. The prose and illustrations guide the reader through a robust account of the important issues surrounding the physics of continuous media and superconductors in particular. The book provides end-of-chapter problems and solutions, which enhance the learning of the topics and the understanding of the chapter’s narrative. Dr. Kozhevnikov has produced a comprehensive, detailed, entertaining, and inspiring book. It is intentional throughout in making the point that superconductivity can be understood semi-classically as a macroscopic phenomenon that follows from the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule as applied to Cooper pairs. The model, introduced by the author in previous works, is the Micro-Whirls Model or MWM. It is developed in full in Chapter 5 and used to explain the phenomena associated with the “three zeroes” of superconductivity (i.e., resistance R, magnetic induction B, and entropy S). The fifth chapter is an exciting culmination of the remarkable work developed in the four previous chapters; together the five chapters comprise a must-have book. I wholeheartedly recommend the book to senior and graduate students interested in the physics of superconductivity. - Oscar O. Bernal, Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, March 2025