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Superconductivity observed at a record high temperature: Hydrogen Sulfide can conduct electricity with zero resistance at 203K (-70°C).

Stashed in: Energy!, Energy, Magnets!, Physics, Physics


One step closer to room temperature superconductor:

Hydrogen sulfide — the compound responsible for the smell of rotten eggs — conducts electricity with zero resistance at a record high temperature of 203 kelvin (–70 °C), reports a paper published today in Nature 1.

The first results of the work, which represents a historic step towards finding a room-temperature superconductor, were released on the arXiv preprint server in December 2 and followed up by more in June 3. They have already sparked a wave of excitement within the research community.

A superconductor that works at room-temperature would make everyday electricity generation and transmission vastly more efficient, as well as giving a massive boost to current uses of superconductivity such as the enormous magnets used in medical imaging machines.

Top Reddit comment:

The catch here is that it only works in a diamond anvil at millions of atmospheres of pressure.

This is still progress in the general direction of hovercars, machinery with no parts that touch and wear, cheap energy storage and technology with futuristic floaty bits.

That's pretty cool!

(the temperature...)

Ha! Yes it is. Breakthroughs like this don't happen very often in Superconductivity. 

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