High-Temperature Superconductors
A revolution happened in condensed matter physics in 1987 when superconductivity (no-loss electrical currents among other things) was observed above liquid-nitrogen temperature: so-called High Temperature Superconductivity. The phenomenon is finding use in applications, and these uses will grow with time, but an understanding of the phenomenon is still lacking.
It is observed in exotic ceramic oxide materials such as La2-xSrxCuO4. Ceramics are not traditionally known for their good electrical properties, except as insulators!
A new development was made in our understanding in1995 when it was suggested that the charges in these materials are not homogeneously distributed but arranged in striped patterns.
We are studying these stripes using the local atomic structure and the PDF technique.