Serendipity as a Force in Physics

Discoveries of the very unexpected do keep happening in physics – even in areas previously thought to be settled and classical. Despite the stifling overload of published research and generally over-busy active fields of research, carefully chosen experiments that bring new elements from outside the field can and do reveal surprises.

What are the best steps to follow? When is it wise to depart from the mainstream, or pick up techniques and technologies from outside ‘physics’?

I will select examples from my own work (the development of semiconductor physics based on carbon-based molecular or polymeric materials) and from the field of superconductivity.