Book Review : The Bloom Is Off Superconductivity

Superconductivity: The New Alchemy by John Langone (Contemporary Books: $19.95; 218 pages)

A few years ago, superconductivity was all the rage. You could hardly open a newspaper or popular magazine without reading about this miracle of science, which enabled electricity to be transmitted over special wires without any resistance--and therefore without any loss. This development was said to presage a revolution in the way we live.

Not that the press was duped, mind you. (Perish the thought.) The press merely repeated what scientists said and predicted. Not just any scientists, either. Reputable scientists. A Nobel Prize was awarded for this development.

To be sure, there were warnings that it would take a while--perhaps quite a while--before this laboratory achievement would be translated into practical applications, but they were overwhelmed by pictures of levitating magnetic trains and visions of new medical technologies.

Though scientific journals continue to publish papers on superconductivity and how it works, the bloom is somewhat off the rose in the popular press. Having greeted the discovery with great fanfare, the public now appears to be waiting for real-world applications.

Written From Clippings

Nonetheless, John Langone has written a book that does little more than repeat the initial enthusiasm without carrying the story much further. “Superconductivity” is largely written from old newspaper clippings, so if you followed the story at the time, you won’t learn much that you don’t already know.

Langone repeats the warning that putting this technology to practical use will require patience and a commitment to the long term, which, he says, the Japanese are better prepared for than we are. But even that part of his book is based on previously published material.

If there’s anything new in Langone’s book, I couldn’t find it. Perhaps it would make good reading for someone who missed the superconductivity fad and needs to catch up. Others should wait for a better book, one that tells more about contemporary work and, incidentally, is less breathless about the great changes that superconductivity has in store.