TheSilsbee effect orSilsbee current refers to the effect by which, if theelectric current through asuperconductor exceeds a critical level, the superconducting state will be destroyed.[1] The size of the critical current (which can be as large as 100amperes in a 1-mm wire) depends on the nature and geometry of the specimen and is related to whether themagnetic field produced by the current exceeds thecritical field at the surface of the superconductor.[2]
The effect is named afterFrancis B. Silsbee who studied conductivity at low temperatures.[3]