What is the Meissner effect?
Q: What is the Meissner effect?
A: It is when a magnetic field is pushed out of a superconductor when it becomes superconducting.
Q: What happens to the magnetic field when a superconductor is placed inside a big magnet?
A: The magnetic field is much smaller than it was outside and the deeper you look, the closer it would be to zero.
Q: How are superconductors different from perfect conductors regarding magnetic fields?
A: Superconductors do not let magnetic fields pass through them unlike perfect conductors.
Q: Who discovered the Meissner effect?
A: Walter Meissner and Robert Ochsenfeld discovered the effect in 1933.
Q: How does the Meissner effect cause a magnet to levitate above a superconducting plate cooled by liquid nitrogen?
A: The superconductor acts like a magnet pointing the opposite direction to stop the magnetic field from going into the superconductor. This repels the real magnet and stops it from coming any closer.
Q: Why does the magnetic field outside a superconductor become stronger?
A: The magnetic field cannot go through the superconductor so it becomes stronger right outside the superconductor.
Q: What is one example of the Meissner effect?
A: One example of the Meissner effect is a magnet levitating above a superconducting plate cooled by liquid nitrogen.
