Corrigendum: Superconductor and Lenz’s law (2020 Supercond. Sci. Technol. 33 055004)

Abstract

Superconductors have the unique properties of zero resistance and the Meissner effect. Lenz's lawis a fundamental law of physics. It has occasionally been questioned whether superconductors obey Lenz's law, and there has not been an explicit answer to this question so far. Recently, we carried out experiments with superconductor coils and a magnet in search of an answer to this question. We found that the interaction between a superconducting coil and a magnet does not comply with one of the primary interpretations of Lenz's law: the current induced in a circuit due to a change or a motion in a magnetic field is directed so as to exert a mechanical force opposing the motion. Our experimental results show that the induced current in the superconducting coil does not always oppose the motion of the magnet during their interaction. Instead, in a certain portion of the interaction the induced current aids the motion of the magnet. This finding may require the aforementioned interpretation of Lenz's law to be revised when superconductors are involved.