Re: ...
Why not with a normal conductor?
with a normal conductor, the molecular vibrations are just too great because of all of the internal energy (heat) possessed by the atoms. So the pairs just can't form... I guess you can say that they form but "break instantly", but it really is instantaneous...
"It is this exchange of phonon energy that keeps the cooper pairs together for much longer periods than normally expected."
The first electron causes the lattice to distort, and the second electron 'absorbs' this distortion (well.. it's just a concept) as it 'rides the wave' behind the first. You'd think that the electrons would soon repel due to like charge, but the second just continues to absorb the photon energy behind the first, keeping them together.
"Ordinary metals are good conductors if the electron-lattice interaction is weak. Superconductivity results from a strong interaction between electrons and lattice!"
it's a bit of a paradox. in ordinary metals, you want weak electron-lattice interactions so as to avoid collisions resulting in electrical resistance. In superconductors, you need interaction, but they're interactions of a different type. You still don't want collisions, but you need the electrons to distort the lattice in such a way as to allow the formation of cooper pairs. if the electrons can't interact (distort) the lattice, then u have no superconductivity.
is that okay ?