Clathrate superhydride makes new high-temperature superconductor

Why is progress on superconductor research so slow? Are we investing enough in this potential game changer?

About 280 K (or 6.9 C) at high pressure is about the best we can do so far.

With practical superconductors e.g. the Global Warming Hoax and Climate Change Religion would instantly collapse!

"Researchers in China have synthesized a new type of high-temperature superconductor, clathrate calcium hydride (CaH6). The material, which is superconducting at temperatures of 215 K and pressures of 172 GPa (1.72 Mbar), is one of best high-temperature superhydrides made to date and the only clathrate hydride outside the family of rare-earth and actinide hydrides. ...
team went on to synthesize the material, and in May 2018 reported direct measurements of its conductivity indicating a Tc of 260 K at 180–200 GPa, ... The team then reported additional measurements showing a Tc of up to 280 K in some samples in August 2018 ... A separate team ... reported a Tc of 250 K for lanthanum hydride synthesized at pressures of around 170 GPa ..."

From the abstract:

"The recent discovery of superconductive rare earth and actinide superhydrides has ushered in a new era of superconductivity research at high pressures. This distinct type of clathrate metal hydrides was first proposed for alkaline-earth-metal hydride CaH6 that, however, has long eluded experimental synthesis, impeding an understanding of pertinent physics. Here, we report successful synthesis of CaH6 and its measured superconducting critical temperature Tc of 215K at 172 GPa, which is evidenced by a sharp drop of resistivity to zero and a characteristic decrease of Tc under a magnetic field up to 9 T. An estimate based on the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg model gives a giant zero-temperature upper critical magnetic field of 203 T. These remarkable benchmark superconducting properties place CaH 6  among the most outstanding high-Tc superhydrides, marking it as the hitherto only clathrate metal hydride outside the family of rare earth and actinide hydrides. This exceptional case raises great prospects of expanding the extraordinary class of high-Tc  superhydrides to a broader variety of compounds that possess more diverse material features and physics characteristics."

Clathrate superhydride makes new high-temperature superconductor – Physics World

High-Temperature Superconducting Phase in Clathrate Calcium Hydride CaH 6 up to 215 K at a Pressure of 172 GPa (no public access)