We used to get "superconductors" then "room temperature superconductors", now this one is "room temperature and room pressure superconductor"
Next one will also include "unleaded" π
this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2023
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The steps actually mattered.
The first superconductors were weird, and required EXTREME conditions to function (generally liquid helium). These allowed for the first MRI machines, and some other tech.
"Type 2" superconductors changed the game. They function at far higher temperatures. This means that liquid nitrogen is enough to keep them functional. These allowed for the large scale roll out of smaller, cheaper MRI machines. You no longer needed a small factory to keep them from self destructing.
The holy grail was room temperature superconductors. These wouldn't need special conditions to function. Unfortunately, they didn't account for pressure. It turns out that superconductors can be made roon temperature, if the pressure is EXTREME. While this is very interesting from a science perspective, it's completely useless to technology improvement.
Hense the newer category, room temperature and pressure. It's what the holy grail should have been, but no one accounted for the pedants.
If this material performs as claimed, it's a big deal. A lot of sci-fi like tech suddenly becomes viable. Much of it centered around power generation, storage, and distribution.
Yeah, it's a really big breakthrough! I noticed while reading the abstract that it uses lead in its molecular (cristaline?) structure. It's a big thing in electronics to avoid lead because when soldering it releases harmful gas, I was just making a joke about this... Yet I hope to someday be able to purchase superconducting wire spools and simply substitute copper in our procedures!
Poor reading on my part. Apologies on that. π
As for unleaded, it will likely be take what we can get. I still find it insane that we've pulled a quantum level effect all the way up into the realm of liquid water! If lead is what's needed, we just need to make sure it's processed properly.
I personally suspect that wire spools won't be a thing. The internal structure of a high temperature superconductor is critical. That's not something conducive to hyper flexible wire. Flexible, maybe, but not to that extent. Also, quenching events will still be a risk. Not quite as explosive as a liquid-He quench, but it would be quite spectacular, nevertheless.
I'd still love to be proven wrong however!
One place it will be a big deal is computing. Superconducting chips and memory will be a big deal. A lot of our limitations are resistive in origin. No resistance means FAR less heat, and so faster chips. They are also already mostly equipped for the sort of production processes required.
Hahah, 2077:"no gluten"
Cool! Next, practical applications.
... if true, this is one of the big ones. Like the discovery of atomic fission, which led to power plants and bombs.
This one leads to a lot of sci fi shit. We could never transfer energy without losing a big chunk of it to waste heat, waste that builds up and ruins everything eventually. This has held back electronics, and really almost all electrical applications for a long time.
This would fix that. Room temp superconductor is your phone no longer getting hot, your computer no longer needing a fan system. It's also easy maglev and small supercomputers.
Thatβs the caveat, if itβs true. If it is? Futureβs sounding much brighter.
Also, TIL not to lead with a pun.
Big caveat. This paper has not even been peer reviewed yet. Then has to be proven it can be replicated.
Definitely. Replication is key, but if this delivers, what a game changer.
I feel like it would be all over the place if it was true.
Yeah.. if true.. this will out do the transistor, laser, MEMS, all of it.
Massive amount of tech.
It'll be century defining, kind of like the discovery and wide adoption of electricity.
Quantum Locking and actual Hoverboards perhaps? There's a huge "if true" in the way however.
Wouldn't hoverboards still require some magnetic track to work?
Please, please, let this not be another Cold Fusion debacle.
I just had a read of the paper. It's very unambiguous. Proven in multiple ways. Unless they actively faked the results, it's definitely a room temperature superconductor. If they did fake it, it will come out VERY quickly.
The effect in the paper looks quite weak, but just it's existence is critical for many problems. It's also easy to improve from the first material, it's finding a starting example that is hard.
So these aren't the scientist that had their discover retracted from Nature twice?
The process they describe for making it is simple, takes a bit over 3 days, and the tools and ingredients are fairly common. I would hope someone tries to replicate this ASAP and we start to see whispers of the validity of this soon, like in the next week or two.
The only other Superconductor news that I can think of recently involved Ringa Dias, who has had to retract a couple of his papers. I can't find anything about this team having retracted papers regarding Superconductors.
That's pretty embarrassing. Are these the same scientists?
Fingers crossed for this one
Sure. In a few weeks there will be another article about a new battery that "scientist found" with 100 times the capacity of modern Li-Ion batteries π€£
I just read the (pre-published) paper. It looks like exactly what they are claiming. It's a small effect, but it's definitely superconductivity, proven in multiple ways. It's also maintained (very weakly) all the way up to 398K, which is insane.
Your not going to be building a room temperature MRI machine with it, but it's there. Critically, now we have an example of a functional RTP superconductor, scientists can iterate around it to improve. That's how most type-II superconductors were discovered/developed.
itβs been debunked. the scientist has admitted as much.
Source?