  We develop a phenomenological description of the nu=5/2 quantum Hall state in
which the Halperin-Lee-Read theory of the half-filled Landau level is combined
with a p-wave pairing interaction between composite fermions (CFs). The
electromagnetic response functions for the resulting mean-field superconducting
state of the CFs are calculated and used in an RPA calculation of the q and
omega dependent longitudinal conductivity of the physical electrons, a quantity
which can be measured experimentally.
