1203.2227 (Daijiro Yoshioka)

Meissner effect cannot be explained classically -- de Gennes is surely
joking    [PDF]

Daijiro Yoshioka

In a recent paper published in American Journal of Physics, Ess\'en and Fiolhais claimed that van Leeuwen's theorem is wrong and that the Meissner effect is explained by classical physics. [Am. J. Phys. {\textbf{80}} 164, (2012).] It is pointed out that denial of the van Leeuwen's theorem comes from confusion between mechanical response and thermodynamic equilibrium of the system. The theorem is intact. The derivation of the Meissner effect by classical physics is based on a wrong argument due to de Gennes. It is pointed out that chapter one of de Gennes' famous book contains a wrong argument; he missed to take into account energy of the magnetic field source properly. Meissner effect needs condensation energy of the superconductor, and the origin of the energy is purely quantum mechanical.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.2227