Making high-temperature superconductivity disappear to understand its origin

When there are several processes going on at once, establishing cause-and-effect relationships is difficult. This scenario holds true for a class of high-temperature superconductors known as the cuprates. Discovered nearly 35 years ago, these copper-oxygen compounds can conduct electricity without resistance under certain conditions. They must be chemically modified ("doped") with additional atoms that introduce electrons or holes (electron vacancies) into the copper-oxide layers and cooled to t...