‘Holy Grail’ superconductor discovery claim offers ‘glimmer of hope’, but doubts remain

Tentative welcome for Korean team’s research but scientists stress need for verification

It has been described as the Holy Grail of condensed matter physics – a material capable of carrying electrical charges without resistance, wasting no energy along the way. For more than a century, the quest for a new kind of superconductor has eluded the greatest scientific minds. But now, a team of Korean researchers claim to have made a breakthrough.

In a newly published paper, the scientists say they have made history by developing a room temperature, ambient pressure superconductor. Such a material may sound of little use to those with no interest in physics. But if their findings are accurate, it is a discovery that could well change the world,

It is, however, a big if. The researchers’ claims have not been independently verified, and their study has yet to be subjected to peer review, causing some observers to express scepticism in the face of widespread excitement elsewhere.

One expert in electrical engineering and conventional and superconducting components told The Scotsman that while the paper offers a “glimmer of hope” of those working in the superconductivity community, “much more work” needs to be done to verify and explore the results.

Until now, superconductivity has only been achieved at extremely high or extremely cold temperatures, but the Korean team’s research suggests their material could work outside of such laboratory conditions, paving the way for practical applications that could include accessible quantum computers and magnetically levitating train networks.

The preprint paper has been produced by Sukbae Lee and Ji-Hoon Kim from the Quantum Energy Research Centre in Seoul, as well as Young-Wan Kwon from Korea University. Together, they say that “for the first time in the world”, they have achieved success in synthesising the room temperature superconductor working at ambient pressure.

The superconductor in question, the paper explains, is a modified lead apatite structure. Dubbed LK-99 by the research team, it is claimed the material’s superconducting qualities stem from a “minute structural distortion” as opposed to external factors, such as temperature or pressure. The distortion is achieved by substituting a fraction of the lead in LK-99 with copper ions.

The prospect of a room temperature superconductor could pave the way for widespread maglev train networks. Picture: Creative Commons

The researchers say they used a variety of data methods to determine LK-99’s superconductivity, including X-ray diffraction and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The end result, they explained, is a “very useful” material that opens the door for advances in magnets, motors and power cables.

By way of underlining the significance of their findings, the researchers concluded their paper by writing: “We believe that our new development will be a brand new historical event that opens a new era for humankind.”

It is a bold claim and, if verified, the discovery would take its place alongside the detection of gravitational waves, the second law of thermodynamics, and other scientific breakthroughs that heralded a huge jump forward in understanding.

Perhaps most significantly, the superconductor could significantly bolster efforts to minimise the environmental impact of energy consumption, given its potential to pave the way for lossless transmission in electricity grids and highly efficient electric motors.

Dr Mohammad Yazdani-Asrami said that if the Korean team's finding are verified, it would mark one of the "most significant achievements" in physics in recent decades. Picture: University of Glasgow

However, the Korean team’s paper has been published on arXiv, a site where scientific papers can be published before they are subjected to the peer review process or independent verification. The science writer, Stuart Ritchie, also singled out the paper for its “ridiculously overblown language” and typos”, concluding on Twitter the research looked “dodgy as hell”.

Dr Mohammad Yazdani-Asrami, a lecturer in electrically powered aircraft and operations at the University of Glasgow, who has spent more than a decade researching electrical engineering, including the use of conventional and superconducting components, said: “A real, working room-temperature superconductor which works at ambient pressure would be one of the holy grails of modern physics, unlocking major new developments in energy, transportation, healthcare, and communications.

“As it stands, however, the paper is not yet peer-reviewed and has not yet been tested in other labs to see if other researchers can reproduce its results. These are both key to determining for sure whether the world should be getting excited about the authors’ claims, which need much more scrutiny at this early stage. If the claims of findings are approved, perhaps, this is one of the most significant achievements of the last few decades in physics and material engineering.”

Dr Yazdani-Asrami added: “Even before those standards are applied, the published results show that the critical current, in-field performance, and mechanical properties of the new material need improvement, to make it useful for energy and transport sector applications, in devices such as cable, motors, and transformers, and magnets in fusion industry. However, achieving this superconducting phase at ambient pressure is already a significant achievement which should be valued.

“Even though this work lit a glimmer of hope for all of us within the superconductivity community and beyond, much more work needs to be done to verify and explore the results. I will watch the developments with keen interest.”

Only this week, a prominent journal decided to retract a paper by a US physicist who had claimed to have discovered superconductors capable of zero resistance conduction without the need for cooling. Ranga Dias, a physicist at the University of Rochester in New York, had submitted the paper to the Physical Review Letters journal, but according to Nature, it is being retracted following an investigation.

It follows allegations surrounding the Sri Lankan national’s previous work. Three years ago, he and his collaborators claimed to have created a superconductor that worked at about 15C under extreme pressure greater than one million atmospheres. However, other researchers could not reproduce the results. Mr Dias has denied any misconduct, data fabrication or data manipulation.