5 ms·
The first time it demonstrated superconductivity they dropped the quartz tube it was in, cracking and accidentally oxidizing it at a specific point in the heati
by weard_beard 3y ago
The first time it demonstrated superconductivity they dropped the quartz tube it was in, cracking and accidentally oxidizing it at a specific point in the heating process and providing vibration that caused the formation of a crystal structure in the material.
That's... not easily replicable.
- xxpor 3y agoI hope this doesn't end up like a physics equivalent to Fermat's Last Theorem
- bluGill 3y agoThat would be better than the physics equivalent of cold fusion (which seemed promising at first, but turns out to not exist - at least so far). Only time will tell, though if it really is, but so difficult to replicate that we need a few hundred years it may as well never exist for purposes of our lifetime.
- TillE 3y agoAssuming that replications fail but they really do have samples of a superconductor that can be thoroughly examined, this is still fantastic. Once we know the exact structure, the problem of synthesis is very solvable.
- Enginerrrd 3y agoI can't help but feel that is an awfully convenient story..
- jacquesm 3y agoThere are wilder ones. Penicillin, the pacemaker and the microwave for instance.