5 ms·

Depends if this can scale, and can withstand environments and carry enough current density etc. If it’s brittle as f, then it limits its applications for examp

• dtx1 3y ago
  Even if it is, we can coat it in epoxy and deal with it. And even if we can't, remember the first semi-conductor was germanium. If we have a theoretical and practical reproducible RT Superconductor we will very fast find new, better ones.
  • tnecniv 3y ago
    And audio nerds everywhere are still lusting after germanium transistors to this day!
    • bick_nyers 3y ago
      Could you explain why? Sounds intriguing.
      • jacquesm 3y ago
        Sounds noisy...
      • Ccecil 3y ago
        My understanding is that it is due to the lower voltage drop across the base junction. Germanium is .3v vs Silicon .7v, so with germanium you get less "crossover distortion" when the input signal is crossing the 0 line. edit: I understand that typically this is biased out with diodes...but the matching is not perfect and it is easier to start with half the distortion.
        • jacquesm 3y ago
          Never mind that any half decent amp design biases the base voltage to make sure that you're not going to have that problem.
      • ruined 3y ago
        musicians often use them to generate distortion, which is purely an electrical phenomenon. germanium components tend to filter high frequencies and don't clip as sharply as silicon, generating tonal effects that can't really be replicated. but mostly, a lot of early guitar pedals used germanium components, and so they are associated with prestigious historic guitar players. here's a video demonstration. silicon first, then halfway through they flip the switches and play the same circuit with germanium components. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3F8-EAxlXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3F8-EAxlXA
        • dtx1 3y ago
          > generating tonal effects that can't really be replicated. Seems my headphones can replicate it judging from hearing the audio. Am I missing something?
          • ruined 3y ago
            you're listening to a recording. a musician wants to make sound
          • wahnfrieden 3y ago
            Synthesis not sample
          • piwi 3y ago
            There are simulators such a Kemper or neural DSP that can reproduce fairly well any amp, but it is expensive, and imperfect. When you play on emulation it's difficult to know if it is faithful without having used the original. Some musician appreciate them, others avoid them. When you happen to finally get the real gear, you often realize it sounds better, and have a wider range of usage. The convenience of real dedicate knobs, without menus is unmatched. There is some pleasure with getting the real thing, and use it by yourself.
          • Blackthorn 3y ago
            Well, it's the creation rather than the playback that's important, but you aren't really missing anything. It's not like the various waveshaping functionality of those aren't documented, they're entirely reproducible in software.
      • ssklash 3y ago
        Ge transistors clip audio signals in a "smoother" way. A softer knee, its called.
    • bacon_waffle 3y ago
      Hmm, superconducting inductors seem like an audiophile thing. Patent?
      • wiml 3y ago
        I've read that superconducting inductors are handy for making very high-Q filters (no parasitic resistance!) and are even used in places as prosaic as cellular towers (LN2-cooled microstrip structures).
• jacquesm 3y ago
  That's not that important. What is important is that if it is true that this is the first member of a new class of superconductors, a whole new family if you will and that once the principles are better understood materials scientists can go about their search in a smaller parameter space of which they have proof that at least one set yields results. Compared to the steps that have been happening in the last decades this one would be absolutely incredible in terms of temperature range, if I understood it correctly they aren't even sure about the upper limit due to a restriction in their measuring gear.
  • porphyra 3y ago
    On one hand, yes, a new family will be discovered. On the other hand, high temperature superconductors like YBCO are very brittle and it does limit the applications. Traditional liquid helium-cooled superconductors still have to be used in many places.
    • jacquesm 3y ago
      One of the reasons it is so brittle is because it is still very cold even though it is high temp for a superconductor. Many materials will become brittle when cooled down that far. This is one of things people hope for with higher temp superconductors: that they will be less brittle. But less brittle usually also implies that a material changes shape easier and that in turn may affect the superconductivity. For instance when a large current runs through a superconductor that leads to strong magnetic fields and those strong magnetic fields will actively push against each other trying to destroy the conductor. A non-rigid superconductor would behave in ways that are not really helpful for instance by pushing it out of its superconducting domain (which would result in some pretty spectacular fireworks because suddenly all that power is available to heat up a small segment of the no-long-superconductor). So there is some chance that all materials that exhibit (useful) superconductivity will end up being somewhat brittle, and will need to be mechanically re-inforced.