LK-99 superconductor research breakthrough could mark ‘new era for humankind’By Ariel Zilber and
Shannon Thaler
August 2, 2023
Imagine riding a levitating train at speeds of 14,000 miles per hour — cutting the trip from New York to Los Angeles to just 20 minutes.
A team of South Korean researchers say the science fiction fantasy is closer to reality than ever before with what they claim is a revolutionary breakthrough in superconductors.
The researchers published their findings July 22 — immediately sending the close-knit scientific community into a viral lather.
“We believe that our new development will be a brand-new historical event that opens a new era for humankind,” the researchers wrote.
Superconductivity requires extremely low temperatures, making it costly to replicate on a mass commercial scale.
Their paper, which was not peer-reviewed, claimed they were able to synthesize the world’s first superconductor able to conduct electricity at room temperature and ambient pressure from a lead-based material known as LK-99.
“If it wasn’t clear why this is a big deal, if successful LK-99 would be a watershed moment for humanity easily on-par with the invention of the transistor,” engineer Andrew Cote wrote on his X profile.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/08/02/lk-99-superconductor-breakthrough-could-mark-new-era/
