A team of physicists in South Korea says it has created the first superconducting material that works at room temperature and normal pressure, a feat that could revolutionize the fields of electronics, energy, and transportation.
Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with virtually no resistance, meaning they do not lose any energy as heat. This makes them extremely useful for applications such as powerful magnets, efficient power transmission, and quantum computing.
’However, most superconductors only work at very low temperatures, close to absolute zero, and under high pressure. This limits their practical use and requires expensive and complex cooling and pressurizing systems.
The Korean team claims to have overcome these limitations by creating a new material called LK-99, which they say is a modified form of lead-apatite with a small amount of copper ions. They say this causes a slight volume shrinkage and structural distortion that creates superconducting quantum wells in the interfaces of the material.
The researchers say they have measured the electrical resistance, critical current, critical magnetic field, and heat capacity of LK-99 and found them to be consistent with superconductivity. They also say they have observed the Meissner effect, which is the expulsion of magnetic fields from a superconductor, by showing a video of the material partially levitating on a magnet.
The researchers say that LK-99 has a critical temperature of at least 400 K (127°C), which means it can operate as a superconductor in any environment on Earth without the need for cooling or pressurizing. They say this is a historical breakthrough that opens a new era for humankind.
“We believe that our new development will be a brand-new historical event that opens a new era for humankind,” the authors of the paper on LK-99 wrote.
The paper has not been peer reviewed and has met with skepticism from other scientists who have questioned the validity and reproducibility of their results. Some experts have also pointed out possible errors and inconsistencies in their data and methods.
“The paper is not yet peer-reviewed and has not yet been tested in other labs to see if other researchers can reproduce its results. These are both key to determining for sure whether the world should be getting excited about the authors’ claims, which need much more scrutiny at this early stage,” said Mohammad Yazdani-Asrami, a physicist at the University of Glasgow.
“If the claims of findings are approved, perhaps, this is one of the most significant achievements of last few decades in physics and material engineering,” he added.
Superconductivity has been a long-standing goal for physicists and engineers since it was first discovered in 1911. Many attempts have been made to find or create materials that can exhibit this property at higher temperatures and pressures, but none have succeeded so far.
The Korean team suggests that others repeat their experiments to verify their findings. If their claims turn out to be true, they could pave the way for a new generation of superconductive devices and technologies that could transform various industries and sectors.
Relevant articles:
– Korean team claims to have created the first room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor, Phys.org, July 27, 2023
– Scientists herald superconductor breakthrough, Information Age, July 27, 2023
– First Room-Temperature Ambient-Pressure Superconductor Achieved, Claim Scientists, Lifeboat News, July 26, 2023
– Researchers Claim They Developed a Room-Temperature Superconductor, The Quantum Insider, July 26, 2023