A one dimensional spinless p-wave superconductor may be in a
topological nontrivial state, in which it has a zero energy
Majorana bound state at each end. Although no known materials
are spinless p-wave superconductors, such a system can be
realized in principle in spin-orbit coupled nanowires with
proximity-induced pairing from a nearby s-wave superconductor.
After introducing the topological phase, I will discuss how
non-idealities, such as potential disorder and deviations from a
strict one-dimensional limit, affect the topological phase and
its signatures in a current-voltage measurement.