Sunday, January 23, 2022

Thanks to a bit of diamond smashing, practical room-temperature superconductivity could be close to reality

After several decades were are still working on the holy grail of room temperature superconductors. This is kind of a background article.

"... The force rearranged the elements into carbon sulfur hydride (CSH), reported to be the first substance that can conduct electricity with no electrical losses at room temperature—a chilly room, to be sure.... That experiment ended the same way nearly all such efforts do: The diamond jaws exploded, and the world’s only room-temperature superconductor vanished in a puff. ...
Together, the hydrides have revolutionized superconductivity, showing it can happen at temperatures only dreamed of in the past, when superconductors revealed their powers only when cooled below –100°[K]. But so far, the materials can only be made in fractions of grams and only superconduct when squeezed to outlandish pressures. That limitation makes them wholly impractical for real-world applications. ...
These are difficult experiments done on extremely small samples under intense pressure,” ... critic of claims for hydride superconductivity. “... but an experimental artifact.” ..."

Thanks to a bit of diamond smashing, practical room-temperature superconductivity could be close to reality | Science | AAAS

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