Chris HanrettyMar 9, 2023
Andrew Steele

New ROOM-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR?!?! This is absolutely massive if true!

The group had a paper from a couple of years ago making similar claims retracted by Nature, but they seem to be trying to go the extra mile to prove it this time…worth watching! https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/record-room-temperature-superconductor-could-boost-quantum-computer-chips/4017114.article

Record room-temperature superconductor could boost quantum computer chips

New material reduces pressures needed more than a hundredfold, but experts urge caution over structural questions and previously retracted research

Chemistry World
Mar 9, 2023 at 3:18pmWeb
Show threadAndrew SteeleMar 9, 2023

Though it’s room-temperature, this material both becomes superconducting and changes colour (!) only at quite ridiculous pressures, ~10,000× atmospheric pressure!, by squeezing a tiny sample between two pieces of diamond.

(I actually used ‘diamond-anvil cells’ during my PhD!)

Show threadAndrew SteeleMar 9, 2023
That said, a gigapascal is non-ridiculous in this field—it’s 100× less than previous superconductors that set record temperatures, similar to pressures created by clever chemistry in microchips so, if this pans out, an early application could be superconducting quantum processors
Show threadAndrew SteeleMar 9, 2023
This means it probably won’t be able to make eg loss-free superconducting wires, or replace the liquid-helium-cooled superconductors used in MRI scanners any time soon, as it’s not obvious how you’d make them this big.
Show threadAndrew SteeleMar 9, 2023
BUT it could provide insight into how superconductors work, allowing us to find other materials which are either similar, or whose properties are inspired by this one, which might open the field to more applications.
Show threadAndrew SteeleMar 9, 2023
Here’s a YouTube video I made in 2012 featuring both a bit more about about the science of superconductivity, and some classic presenting by, er, me…which makes me cringe slightly to watch back! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi7tN_B1BT8
Maglev train

YouTube