In the previous month, two research papers published by scientists from South Korea made a remarkable assertion that caused a commotion on social media and increased the prices of certain stocks in China and South Korea. The scientists claimed to have found a viable superconductor.
Overview of the Achievement
Recently, two research papers were published by researchers from South Korea on a website commonly used by scientists to exchange research before a formal peer review and publication. These research papers created a stir among researchers worldwide. South Korean scientists have discovered a superconductor that functions at room temperature, a feat that has always been regarded as the holy grail for experts in this field. The scientists had shared a procedure for producing a substance named LK-99, which necessitates introducing a few copper atoms into a mineral called lead apatite. This information was disclosed alongside their discovery of a superconductor that operates at room temperature, a significant breakthrough for the scientific community.
Other Researchers’ Opinion
According to physicists interviewed by Reuters, discovering a superconductor that operates at room temperature is a promising breakthrough for the scientific community. They also revealed that the material described by the South Korean team is easy to grow, which means other researchers should be able to begin obtaining results soon. It is essential for other labs to reliably replicate the South Korean researchers’ findings to be considered as proof of discovery.
Eric Toone, a scientist-turned-investor at Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, closely monitors reputable labs’ peer review and reproduction efforts. “The measurements you need to verify or to demonstrate superconductivity are very difficult to make,” said Toone. “It’s completely game changing if it’s right, but until we have more validation, we just have to be patient.”
According to Mike Norman, a condensed matter physicist at Argonne National Laboratory, there were issues with the original papers, as he pointed out. While some errors could have been due to rushing to publish the research, there were concerns about a need for more data across a wide temperature range to demonstrate how the material behaves in superconducting and non-superconducting states. “We call them USOs,” said Norman. “There’s a long history of USOs going a long way back, including some very famous people who thought they had a superconductor and they didn’t. It’s like anything in science – you can be fooled. Even good people can be fooled.”
Concerns Raised by Other Researchers
There are some concerns raised by other researchers regarding the proposed material. One of them is Sinéad Griffin, a solid-state physicist and staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She utilized a U.S. Department of Energy supercomputer to simulate the material. She discovered that adding copper atoms to lead apatite caused the rearrangement of its atoms unexpectedly, similar to existing superconductors. However, this effect relies on the copper atoms being placed where they do not naturally prefer to be, which could pose a challenge in producing the material in large quantities.
