Korean scientists claim room-temperature superconductor breakthrough
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…
