We report on the c-axis resistivity rho(c)(H) in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) that peaks in quasistatic magnetic fields up to 60 T. By suppressing the Josephson part of the two-channel (Cooper pair/quasiparticle) conductivity sigma(c)(H), we find that the negative slope of rho(c)(H) above the peak is due to quasiparticle tunneling conductivity sigma(q)(H) across the CuO2 layers below H(c2). At high fields (a) sigma(q)(H) grows linearly with H, and (b) rho(c)(T) tends to saturate ( sigma(c) not equal0) as T-->0, consistent with the scattering at the nodes of the d-wave gap. A superlinear sigma(q)(H) marks the normal state above T(c).

A sharp paramagnetic peak in the local ac susceptibility Ј at the first-order vortex-lattice phase transition in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 crystals is found. Observation of this peak establishes the thermodynamic nature of the transition and allows accurate evaluation of the equilibrium magnetization step height. The associated estimated entropy change ⌬s reaches values in excess of 6k B per pancake vortex close to T c. The local Љ shows two independent dissipation peaks. The broader one is caused by the onset of irreversible magnetization, whereas the narrow one is due to hysteresis at the phase transition. ͓S0163-1829͑96͒50930-6͔

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