How would a room-temperature superconductor change the world?

Above the critical temperature, the superconducting properties are destroyed. A room-temperature superconductor would revolutionize technology. A superconducting power grid would not lose energy via resistance, so it would result in tremendous energy savings compared with the technology we have today.

What could we do with a room-temperature superconductor?

While some cryogenically cooled systems currently leverage this, a room-temperature superconductor could lead to an energy-efficiency revolution, as well as infrastructure revolutions in applications such as magnetically levitated trains and quantum computers. A modern high field clinical MRI scanner.

Is it possible to achieve room temperature superconductors?

A room-temperature superconductor is a material that is capable of exhibiting superconductivity at operating temperatures above 0 °C (273 K; 32 °F), that is, temperatures that can be reached and easily maintained in an everyday environment.

Is it possible to make a room temperature superconductor?

While that pressure is still too high for practical applications, the new material is a significant improvement over the room temperature superconducting materials the researchers reported last fall in Nature. And both results demonstrate progress toward eventually creating a room temperature superconductor.

Can superconductors change the world?

Dias says developing materials that are superconducting—without electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic field at room temperature—is the “holy grail” of condensed matter physics. Sought for more than a century, such materials “can definitely change the world as we know it,” Dias says.

What makes a good superconductor?

Those are the two very basic criteria,” Dias says. “Hydrogen is the lightest material, and the hydrogen bond is one of the strongest. “Solid metallic hydrogen is theorized to have high Debye temperature and strong electron-phonon coupling that is necessary for room temperature superconductivity,” Dias says.

Is hydrogen the key to a high temperature superconductor?

Researchers have also explored copper oxides and iron-based chemicals as potential candidates for high temperature superconductors in recent years. However, hydrogen—the most abundant element in the universe—also offers a promising building block. “To have a high temperature superconductor, you want stronger bonds and light elements.