‘Red Matter’ Superconductor Could Transform Electronics – If It Works

Superconductivity at room temperature and room pressure has been a central goal of materials science for over a century, and it may have finally been achieved. If this new superconducting material stands the test of time, it could revolutionize the way our world eats, but first the results will have to be subjected to serious scientific analysis.

When a material is superconductive, electricity flows through it with zero resistance, meaning that none of the energy involved is wasted as heat. But every superconductor created so far has required unusually high pressures, and most have required similarly high temperatures.

Ranga Diaz of the University of Rochester in New York and colleagues claim to have created a material from hydrogen, nitrogen and lutetium that becomes superconductive at just 21°C (69°F) and a pressure of 1 gigapascal. This is almost 10,000 times the atmospheric pressure at the Earth’s surface, but still much lower than the pressure of any previous superconducting material. “Let’s say you’re riding a horse in the 1940s when you see a Ferrari drive past you – that’s the difference between the previous experiments and this one,” says Diaz.

To make the material, they placed a combination of the three elements in a diamond anvil — a mechanism that compresses samples to an unusually high pressure between two diamonds — and squeezed. When the material was compressed, its color changed from blue to red, leading the researchers to nickname it “the red stuff.”

The researchers then conducted a series of tests, studying the electrical resistance and heat capacity of the red substance, as well as how it interacted with an applied magnetic field. All tests indicated the superconductivity of the material.

But not all researchers in the field are convinced. “They may have discovered something completely innovative and amazing in this work, something that would bring a Nobel Prize, but I have some doubts,” says James Hamlin from the University of Florida.

Some of his reservations, and those of other superconductivity researchers, stem from the controversy surrounding a 2020 paper by Diaz and his team that claimed superconductivity at room temperature, but was later retracted by a scientific journal. Nature. At the time, some questioned the accuracy of the data presented in the article and raised questions about how the published data were derived from the raw measurements.

“Until the authors give answers to those questions that can be understood, there is no reason to believe that [the data] they are also published in this article and reflect the physical properties of real physical samples,” says Jorge Hirsch from the University of California at San Diego.

Part of the reason skepticism is so hard to dispel is that we don’t know enough about red matter to build a theoretical understanding of how it might be superconductive. “There is still a lot to be done to understand the exact structure of this material, which is very important for understanding how this material is superconducting,” says Diaz. “We hope that if we can produce it in large quantities, we will better understand the structure of the material.”

If theorists can figure out exactly how and why this material becomes superconductive, it could help convince researchers that it is in fact a superconductor and could also lead to industrial production of red matter. “The structures found in this work are probably completely different. [from previously confirmed superconducting materials]”, says Eva Zurek from the University at Buffalo in New York. “The superconductivity mechanism of this compound may be different, but I can’t know for sure because I don’t have a structure to work on.”

If independent groups can confirm the superconductivity of red matter and elucidate its structure, this could be one of the most impressive scientific discoveries. A superconductor at room temperature and room pressure could make the electrical grid much more efficient and environmentally friendly, increase magnetic levitation, and more. “I think there are a lot of technologies that have not even been imagined yet that could use superconductivity at room temperature and at room pressure,” says Zurek.

But researchers do not yet dream of a superconducting society. “Obviously there will be a lot of checks,” Hamlin says. “I think the difference here from the previous result is that it’s at such low pressure that a lot of other bands can look at it.” Only a few laboratories around the world have expensive and sophisticated diamond anvils capable of reaching the high pressures needed for previous superconductivity experiments, but pressure chambers that can reach 1 gigapascal are relatively common.

This may be the biggest factor differentiating this paper from the retracted 2020 paper. “Their previous work has not yet been replicated by an independent group, but this one should be replicated very quickly,” says Tim Strobel of the Carnegie Institution of Science in Washington. – We’re going to do it right now. If all goes well, this could be the start of an energy revolution.