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> Superconductor Pb10-xCux(PO4)6O showing levitation at room temperature and atmospheric pressure Is it late April Fools joke? It can’t be true. Edit: I am n

> Superconductor Pb10-xCux(PO4)6O showing levitation at room temperature and atmospheric pressure Is it late April Fools joke? It can’t be true. Edit: I am not surprised it levitates. I am astonished by how much it will reshape our world if it is real room-temp and ambient-pressure superconductor. Also is easy to produce. Just too good to be true.

distortedsignal 3y ago
All of those elements are so common - this should be easy to test. We'll see.
- stu255 3y ago
  Any news yet? You could almost make this stuff in a pizza oven.
  - distortedsignal 3y ago
    I would guess that it'll take a month or two to repro the procedure. The paper was uploaded in the last week, so we're still probably a few weeks out on peer review.
zenexer 3y ago
Superconductors will typically levitate if placed above a magnet, and vice versa. Magnets are weird--superconductors even more so. I assume that's what they were referring to? Edit: Judging by Fig 4, which has a large object conspicuously labeled "magnet", that's probably what they're referring to.
- amluto 3y ago
  This whole experiment is quite reminiscent of an experiment I did in high school. We synthesized a high temperature superconductor (IIRC it was YBCO) by grinding some powders together with a mortal and pestle and baking the result. And we stuck it in a little cup of LN2 and floated a magnet on it. It really works! This group used somewhat nastier powders, they had to cook parts of it in a vacuum, and they floated the result on a magnet instead of vice versa. And it only floated a bit. But they did it without any cooling!
scarmig 3y ago
Levitation is to be expected for any superconductor when it's in a superconducting state; that part is banal. The big question is whether it's actually a superconductor at RTP. Their results are strong enough that it's unlikely to be a mistake, though fraud is possible too (although it is so easily uncovered given the simplicity of preparing the material and the strength of the reported effects that fraud seems almost pointless since it'll be uncovered immediately).
- CamperBob2 3y ago
  The recipe in the paper is so simple that it's giving me Pons-Fleischmann vibes. It reads more like an entry from an alchemist's journal, reproducible with chemicals and equipment you could buy on eBay or Amazon. So, yeah: big if true.
  - kridsdale3 3y ago
    Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth and for thousands of years humans had no idea what would be possible with very controlled etching of it.
    - Terr_ 3y ago
      Mildly-topical Terry Pratchett amusement quote, since it involves a society that has overlooked the power of silicon plus the potential of superconductivity: > Detritus blinked. There was a tinkle of falling ice. Odd things were happening in his skull. Thoughts that normally ambulated sluggishly around his brain were suddenly springing into vibrant, coruscating life. And there seemed to be more and more of them. > 'My goodness,' he said, to no-one in particular. > This was a sufficiently un-troll-like comment that even Cuddy, whose extremities were already going numb, stared at him. > 'I do believe,' said Detritus, 'that I am genuinely cogitating. How very interesting!' > 'What do you mean?' > More ice cascaded off Detritus as he rubbed his head. > 'Of course!' he said, holding up a giant finger. 'Superconductivity!' > 'Wha'?' > 'You see? Brain of impure silicon. Problem of heat dissipation. Daytime temperature too hot, processing speed slows down, weather gets hotter, brain stops completely, trolls turn to stone until nightfall, ie, colder-temperature,however,lowertemperatureenough,brain operatesfasterand—' > [...] Detritus sat down again. Life was so simple, when you really thought about it. And he was really thinking. He was seventy-six per cent sure he was going to get at least seven degrees colder. -- Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett
inasio 3y ago
One obvious application: your family doctor will have an MRI machine in her office, same for all physio clinics
- scythe 3y ago
  MRI will get much cheaper, but you still need a good upper critical field and a proper access control (Zone 2/3/4) protocol. So probably not in very small buildings.
  - fluidcruft 3y ago
    From what I can tell this material can't provide higher than 0.3T. We've had permanent magnet MRI at 0.3T but the drawbacks vs superconducting magnets are weight and lack of active shielding.
  - cperciva 3y ago
    With room temperature superconductivity doesn't it become possible to turn the magnet on and off far more easily? MRIs would be much safer if they were only energized during the actual imaging process.
    - zardo 3y ago
      To turn the magnet off you need to get the current out, I don't see why raising the temperature would make that easy.
      - jacquesm 3y ago
        Dump it in a bank of capacitors, send it back when you need it. Or in a superconducting loop...
        zardo 3y ago
        How does the temperature come into play?
- 3y ago

distortedsignal 3y ago

All of those elements are so common - this should be easy to test. We'll see.

stu255 3y ago
Any news yet? You could almost make this stuff in a pizza oven.
- distortedsignal 3y ago
  I would guess that it'll take a month or two to repro the procedure. The paper was uploaded in the last week, so we're still probably a few weeks out on peer review.

zenexer 3y ago

Superconductors will typically levitate if placed above a magnet, and vice versa. Magnets are weird--superconductors even more so. I assume that's what they were referring to? Edit: Judging by Fig 4, which has a large object conspicuously labeled "magnet", that's probably what they're referring to.

amluto 3y ago
This whole experiment is quite reminiscent of an experiment I did in high school. We synthesized a high temperature superconductor (IIRC it was YBCO) by grinding some powders together with a mortal and pestle and baking the result. And we stuck it in a little cup of LN2 and floated a magnet on it. It really works! This group used somewhat nastier powders, they had to cook parts of it in a vacuum, and they floated the result on a magnet instead of vice versa. And it only floated a bit. But they did it without any cooling!

scarmig 3y ago

Levitation is to be expected for any superconductor when it's in a superconducting state; that part is banal. The big question is whether it's actually a superconductor at RTP. Their results are strong enough that it's unlikely to be a mistake, though fraud is possible too (although it is so easily uncovered given the simplicity of preparing the material and the strength of the reported effects that fraud seems almost pointless since it'll be uncovered immediately).

CamperBob2 3y ago
The recipe in the paper is so simple that it's giving me Pons-Fleischmann vibes. It reads more like an entry from an alchemist's journal, reproducible with chemicals and equipment you could buy on eBay or Amazon. So, yeah: big if true.
- kridsdale3 3y ago
  Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth and for thousands of years humans had no idea what would be possible with very controlled etching of it.
  - Terr_ 3y ago
    Mildly-topical Terry Pratchett amusement quote, since it involves a society that has overlooked the power of silicon plus the potential of superconductivity: > Detritus blinked. There was a tinkle of falling ice. Odd things were happening in his skull. Thoughts that normally ambulated sluggishly around his brain were suddenly springing into vibrant, coruscating life. And there seemed to be more and more of them. > 'My goodness,' he said, to no-one in particular. > This was a sufficiently un-troll-like comment that even Cuddy, whose extremities were already going numb, stared at him. > 'I do believe,' said Detritus, 'that I am genuinely cogitating. How very interesting!' > 'What do you mean?' > More ice cascaded off Detritus as he rubbed his head. > 'Of course!' he said, holding up a giant finger. 'Superconductivity!' > 'Wha'?' > 'You see? Brain of impure silicon. Problem of heat dissipation. Daytime temperature too hot, processing speed slows down, weather gets hotter, brain stops completely, trolls turn to stone until nightfall, ie, colder-temperature,however,lowertemperatureenough,brain operatesfasterand—' > [...] Detritus sat down again. Life was so simple, when you really thought about it. And he was really thinking. He was seventy-six per cent sure he was going to get at least seven degrees colder. -- Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett

inasio 3y ago

One obvious application: your family doctor will have an MRI machine in her office, same for all physio clinics

scythe 3y ago
MRI will get much cheaper, but you still need a good upper critical field and a proper access control (Zone 2/3/4) protocol. So probably not in very small buildings.
- fluidcruft 3y ago
  From what I can tell this material can't provide higher than 0.3T. We've had permanent magnet MRI at 0.3T but the drawbacks vs superconducting magnets are weight and lack of active shielding.
- cperciva 3y ago
  With room temperature superconductivity doesn't it become possible to turn the magnet on and off far more easily? MRIs would be much safer if they were only energized during the actual imaging process.
  - zardo 3y ago
    To turn the magnet off you need to get the current out, I don't see why raising the temperature would make that easy.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      Dump it in a bank of capacitors, send it back when you need it. Or in a superconducting loop...
      - zardo 3y ago
        How does the temperature come into play?
3y ago