THIS IS WORLD-CHANGING… OR JUST ANOTHER BUST LIKE COLD FUSION: Room-Temperature Superconductor Claim Goes Viral, But Be Skeptical.

The South Korean researchers say LK-99 can be made in a baking process that combines the minerals lanarkite (Pb₂SO₅) and copper phosphide (Cu₃P). They say the resulting material shows two key signs of superconductivity at normal air pressure and at temperatures up to 127 ℃: zero resistance and magnetic levitation.

They propose a plausible theory of how LK-99 might display room-temperature superconductivity, but have not provided definite experimental evidence. The data presented in the papers appear inconclusive.

One of the signatures of a superconductor is the Meissner effect, which causes it to levitate when placed above a magnet.

In a video demonstration, the researchers position a piece of LK-99 over a magnet. One edge of the flat disk of LK-99 rises, but the other edge appears to maintain contact with the magnet.

We would expect a superconductor to display full levitation and also “quantum locking” which keeps it in a fixed position relative to the magnet. In a charitable interpretation, the behaviour we see in the video may be due to imperfections in the sample, meaning only part of the sample becomes superconductive.

So it is too early to say we have been presented with compelling evidence for room-temperature superconductivity.

I’d love to be wrong, but I get the feeling that room-temperature superconductors are the material of the future and always will be.