Superconductor surface. Coloured scanning tunnelling micrograph (STM) of the surface of a bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (BSCCO) superconductor on an atomic scale. A superconductor is a material that will conduct electricity without resistance. BSCCO is a transition metal oxide and so can become superconducting at unusually high temperatures. Measurements taken from this micrograph are used to study the electronic states of the superconductor in the hope of explaining the novel characteristics of transition metal oxides. The research is being undertaken by Prof. Yazdani in the Princeton Nanoscale Microscopy Laboratory, Princeton University, USA.