A research team from South Korea published two papers last week on arXiv, claiming to have created “world’s first room -temperature, atmospheric pressure superconductor material” which is called as LK-99, This can enable the possible fabrication of superconductors at room-temperature and ambient-pressure.
After the papers on LK-99 from South Korean scientists were made public, chinese research team also confirmed that they successfully verified the synthesis of LK-99 crystal.
There is lot of excitement around the possibility of a breakthrough for creating a superconductor that works on room temperature and pressure, this could revolutionize the world of physics and energy.
Let’s understand what a superconductor is.
What is superconductor?
- Superconductors are special materials that exhibit superconductivity, a state in which they offer virtually zero electrical resistance to the flow of electric current.
- When cooled to very low temperatures, usually near absolute zero or below, superconductors allow electric charges (typically carried by electrons) to move through them with almost no hindrance, resulting in highly efficient and lossless electrical conduction.
- Superconductors also expel magnetic fields from their interior, a property known as the Meissner effect, which further enhances their ability to conduct electricity without any energy loss due to resistance.
- These materials have numerous practical applications, such as in medical devices like MRI machines, power transmission lines for reducing energy loss during electricity transfer, and high-tech scientific research equipment.
- One of the challenges in utilizing superconductors extensively is the need for extremely low temperatures to achieve their unique properties. Scientists are actively researching and developing materials that could exhibit superconductivity at higher temperatures, aiming for the discovery of room-temperature superconductors, which could lead to widespread and transformative technological advancements.
What is LK-99?
LK-99 is a dark gray material made by lead and copper. It is made by grinding lead sulfate (Lanarkite) and copper sulfide, the resulting mixture is placed inside a vacuum chamber and subjected to a temperature of 925 degrees Celsius for a duration of 10 hours. The resulting ingot exhibits superconducting properties up to 127-degree Celsius. The video showing levitation at room temperature.
The breakthrough in room-temperature and atmospheric pressure super conducting material will bring revolutionary changes in various sectors such as energy and power, healthcare, computing, transportation.
Imagine the power transmission over long distance without power loss. This will lead the new wave of global infrastructure development in the electricity network.
Superconducting computing systems can provide unprecedented speeds without energy loss or with minimal loss.