Princeton scientists discover surprising quantum effect in an exotic superconductor

Amazing stuff (dated Nov. 2019)! Are we coming any closer to a room temperature superconductor?

"The researchers probed the behavior of iron-based superconductors when impurities – namely atoms of cobalt – are added to explore how superconductivity forms and dissipates. Their findings led to new insights into a 60-year old theory of how superconductivity behaves. ... Cobalt appears to be one of these exceptions. Contrary to the theory, the addition of cobalt forces the iron-based superconductor to lose its superconducting ability and become like an ordinary metal ... discovered that each cobalt atom has a limited local impact that vanishes an atom or two in distance away from the impurity. However, there is a strong, systematic evolution through a phase transition into a normal, non-superconducting state as the cobalt concentration increases. ... "

Princeton scientists discover surprising quantum effect in an exotic superconductor – Discovery: Research at Princeton: Superconductors are already in use in various capacities, but newer iron-based superconductors are an active area of investigation. Researchers led by a Princeton team have studied what happens to …