Room-Temperature Superconductivity Heats Up
Few areas of research have captivated scientists more than the search for room-temperature superconductivity. Finding a way to reduce energy loss as electricity travels over transmission lines and across wires would profoundly change society. It would deliver nearly unlimited energy, turbocharge compute speeds, and introduce new and better ways to use computers and other electronics.
Yet assembling the right mix of materials to achieve room temperature superconductivity has eluded researchers for more than a century. Time and time again, physicists have announced breakthroughs that were later found to be irreproducible, in error, or even fraudulent. Consequently, the challenge—getting to superconductivity at temperatures above 0 degrees Kelvin (-273.15 degrees Celsius) at ambient pressure—remains a holy grail of physics and materials science.
“It’s an extraordinarily complex equation that involves more than materials, temperatures, and pressures,” said Alan Kadin, a technical consultant in the field and a former professor of electrical engineering at the University of Rochester. At best, he said, any viable commercial solution remains years away. “The real question is, even if a breakthrough occurs in the laboratory, is it possible to create a technology that is consistently reproducible and manufacturable? Can we make this work outside a lab?”
