Three papers on high-temperature superconductivity, all published in 1987, are still being cited more frequently than all other high-Tc articles that have since appeared—with only one exception, according to data from the Science Citation Index of the Institute for Scientific Information, Philaderphia.
In the first two months of 1989, the most cited superconductivity paper, by M.K. Wu and colleagues (Physical Review Letters, 58, 908-10, 2 March 1987), tallied 136 citations. Its cumulative citation stack now stands at over 1,900. This instant classic reported 93 K superconductivity in a yttrium compound.
The other two high-Tc oldies-butgoodies are by P.W. Anderson (Science, 235, 1196-8, 6 March 1987), and by R.J. Cava and colleagues (Physical Review Letters, 58, 1676-9, 20 April 1987). The Anderson paper, on his resonating-valence-bond theory, picked up 70 citations in Januaiy and February, bringing its total to nearly 700. The Cava paper, which identified in exact terms what is ...
