LK99 returns: China echoes earlier claim of room temp superconductors

It’s come back. Scientists from two institutions are claiming that they have discovered a near room temperature superconductor. Social media is abuzz already, like it was , about the possibility of a superconductor. Tech enthusiasts are spilling scientific tea over the paper posted on arXiv this Tuesday that has everyone talking.

A team of researchers from China is claiming that the superconductor works at temperatures as "warm" as –23 degrees Celsius (that's –9.4 degrees Fahrenheit). It's not quite room temperature cool, but compared to the frigid demands of existing high temperature superconductors, which need to chill at around –170 degrees Celsius, the new discovery is practically sunbathing.

A busy weekend ahead for superconductor nerds LK 99 made a heck of a splash last August for claiming to be a superconductor that works at room temperature, which could have been a significant breakthrough for technology. But then other labs ran experiments and failed to reproduce the same results as had been claimed by a July 2023 , and it seemed more like LK 99 was just good at magnets.

Now, a new study adds a bit of fervor and sulfur to LK 99 to see if that changes things. But there's a problem because the first LK 99 might have had some sulfur by accident, so it’s not clear if the original results were right, as per an analysis by , an engineering physicist. They tested if LK 99 is a superconductor by using the Meissner Effect, where it pushes away a magnetic field.

They also checked at what point it stops being a superconductor. They used a super sensitive tool called an MPMS3 SQUID. The results suggest LK 99 might have some magnetic power at low temperatures, but the scientists are being careful and only calling it a "Possible Meissner effect," as the study’s title suggests, at almost room temperature.

It seems more likely that Lead Apatite Crystals, like LK 99, have interesting magnetic properties at weak magnetic fields, changing near room temperature. But making room temperature superconductors still seems like a tough job. Treading on a risky territory Cognizant of what transpired six months prior, the researchers warned that we should be careful not to make big claims without strong evidence to keep science trustworthy.

Researchers at the University of Maryland were the first to take a big swing at the superconductivity claims surrounding the fresh out of the lab material, LK 99, reported . Citing three studies in different nations, these scientific sleuths basically put the brakes on the hype train for LK 99. With superconductors in the picture, a world where levitating trains zip through the air and quantum computers perform mind blowing feats at lightning speed is very much a possibility.

The concept of superconductors making these futuristic dreams a reality has been on the horizon for a while. However, there's been a bit of a snag. For over a century, scientists have been scratching their heads, trying to get superconductors to play nice, but the catch is they only cooperate under wild conditions like freezing cold or sky high pressures..