The Effect of Pressure on the Superconducting Transition in Tin

Abstract

The role played by mechanical stresses in superconductivity has aroused much interest recently because of the appearance of atomic theories of superconductivity which attempt to explain how the effects of pressure come about. Prior to the recent war the only experiments on the pressure effect were those of Sizoo and Onnesl which gave qualitative evidepce that the superconducting transition could be shifted by the application of tensile or compressive stresses. Recent studies have taken up a diversity of problems such as the effects of very large pressures produced by mechanical clamping,2 the effects of inhomogeneous tensile and compressive forces,3 shear stresses,4 and the effect of age or precipitation hardening.5 In this study, the basic question of the effect of a uniform, hydrostatic compression, which is the simplest stress system, is re-investigated for tin.U of I Onlydissertatio