New Material Can Be Warmer Superconductor
A new material shows possible superconductivity at up to 66 degrees above the current record temperature, scientists report, giving a potential boost to prospects for making the technology practical.
Five samples of the material showed no electrical resistance at temperatures above minus 208 degrees Fahrenheit, scientists from Taiwan report, and one showed no electrical resistance at up to minus 168 degrees.
The current widely accepted record is minus 234 degrees.
Other scientists cautioned that the new report does not include a crucial test for proving superconductivity, and said that at this point the new material should be considered only a possible superconductor.
No Resistance
Superconductivity is the ability of some materials to conduct electricity without loss to resistance. If they can be made practical, superconductors may lead to such advances as smaller, more powerful computers and floating high-speed trains.
Materials created so far must be deeply chilled before they will superconduct. Researchers are trying to develop materials with as high a superconducting temperature as possible, to minimize the expense of cooling and so make superconductors more practical.
The new research is disclosed in “High Tc Update,” a newsletter published by the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy. “Tc” refers to the temperature at which a material begins to superconduct.
The newsletter obtained a copy of a paper by researchers at the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the National Tsing Hua University, both in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
Same Ingredients
The researchers reported that their material includes the same ingredients as the current record-holding compound: thallium, calcium, barium, copper and oxygen.
Some samples that superconducted when warmer than minus 208 degrees eventually lost the ability, but others that superconducted above minus 226 degrees were still able to do so after a week, the researchers said.
The reason for the change in superconducting performance in some samples has not yet been pinpointed, they said.
