What is Bitter Decoration? - Explained by Peter

[peterjaybee]

Hello,

I have just read a report where a technique called bitter decoration is used in a superconductivity experiment, but nowhere in the report is this technique explained. Could someone please give a brief description of this technique. Many thanks

Peter

 

[genneth]

It's where you sprinkle fine iron powder onto the surface of a superconductor; the powder will settle at points with magnetic flux --- the vortices. So it is a low-tech method to visualise the vortex texture of a type II superconductor in a magnetic field.

 

[peterjaybee]

Thankyou