Description

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I first learned of the existence of this book on high-temperature superconduc- tivity when I received a copy in the office of one of the co-editors, Prof. V. L. Ginzburg, shortly after publication. I had known of the work on problems and prospects of achieving high-temperature superconductors by the members of the I. E. Tamm Department of Theoretical Physics of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute. I was naturally anxious to read and study this volume, which inte- grates the work of more than a decade. Lest one think that the contributions contained here are of the nature of a reflective looking backward, two important considerations should be kept in mind. First, achievement of high-Tc superconductivity is very much a current and future goal. Elsewhere, one of the authors has described it in these words: "Yes, high-temperature superconductivity is a dream, but a sufficiently realistic one. " Second, the current physics literature contains reports of new and astounding findings-perhaps some of these will later be recognized as precursors to achieving the "dream.