Theory of Superconductivity. (Contained in The Physical Review, Second Series, Volume 108, Number 5, p.1175-1204.).

Lancaster, PA, 1957. The complete issue in original blue printed wrappers. A fine copy, with no tears, stamps or fading. First edition of this historic paper. The phenomenon of low-temperature superconductivity was discovered by the Dutch physicist Kamerling Onnes already in 1911. For nearly half a century this peculiar phenomenon remained a mystery. The B(ardeen)C(ooper)S(schrieffer)-theory was first announced in this issue of the Physical Review. The theory turned out to be very successful in explaining in considerable detail the properties of superconductors. The theory also predicted new effects and stimulated an intensive activity in theoretical and experimental research. In 1972 the authors shared the Nobel Prize in Physics "for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory". This was Bardeen's second Nobel Prize in Physics (1956 for the co-invention of the transistor) - until today only two scientists have received the prize twice in the same field. The importance of this paper is still today of the greatest magnitude, as it has been one of the most cited articles in the last decade.…