Scientists have so far failed to show that a South Korean team's LK-99 material is a claimed room temperature superconductor, which could transform computing
Hi, welcome to your Weekend. Justine Calma / The Verge : The LK-99 ‘superconductor’ went viral — here's what the experts think Moneycontrol : What is room-temperature superconductor? All you need to know about LK-99 Kenneth Chang / New York Times : LK-99 Is the Superconductor of the Summer John Timmer / Ars Technica : What's going on with the reports of a room-temperature superconductor? Zhiyuan Sun / Cointelegraph : Korean superconductor LK-99 joins memecoin craze Karmela Padavic-Callaghan / New Scientist : Why it's so hard to tell if LK-99 is a room-temperature superconductor Maria Deutscher / SiliconANGLE : ‘Superconducting’ LK-99 material draws raised eyebrows from scientists after going viral Insider : What is the LK-99 superconductor? Everyone is talking about how it could change the world, but experts say we're still a long way off Livemint : Superconductors' Viral ‘LK-99’ Moment Takes Investors for a Wild Ride ChinaTechNews.com : Did scientists really create a room temperature superconductor? Not so fast, experts say. Rohail Saleem / Wccftech : The Quest For Ideal Superconductor: Here Is Why the Betting Markets Are Not Getting Excited About LK-99 Just Yet, but You Should Howard Chua-Eoan / Bloomberg : What an LK-99 Superconductor Might Do to Your iPhone Tim Culpan / Bloomberg : LK-99 and the Desperation for Scientific Discovery Chris Morris / Fast Company : What is LK-99? What we know so far about the much-hyped potential superconductor Stephen Nellis / Reuters : Superconductor claims spark investor frenzy, but scientists are skeptical Rebbeca Ren / PingWest : China's superconductor hype cools down after mixed experimental results Mastodon: Carlos Moffat / @carlosmoffat@fediscience.org : The proliferation of pre-print “publication” for research is a win for broader access in the era of for-profit publication models, but I don't think we've thought deeply enough about the impact it has on the reputation of science to have research out there before it goes through (yes, flawed) peer review: … Twitter: Andrew Cote / @andercot : First video of LK-99 Full Levitation, aka flux-pinning This video was just posted to the Chinese video-sharing site BiliBili and claims to be a highly pure synthesized sample of LK-99. What is the physical phenomenon behind this and what does it mean? Levitation of... [video] Andrew McCalip / @andrewmccalip : Meissner effect or bust: Day 8.5 We made the rocks [video] @r9tqyzz3gta1tcd : A researcher at Q-centre stated in an interview that if LK-99 is a good sample, its diamagnetic effect is as much as 5,450 times that of graphite. For a bad sample, it reaches 23 times, and they stated that there is no way to explain it unless it is a superconductor. #LK99 [video] Sebastian David Lees / @sebs_tweets : LK-99 LATEST: Video claiming to show first full levitation of #LK99 posted on Chinese social site Bilibili... [video] @gfodor : So, uh, are we to conclude that not a single US lab made LK-99 a week in, just a bunch of space cowboys in Miami? A true greypill. @floates0x : The Department of Condensed Matter Physics at Charles University, Prague has pulled out their replica attempt of the LK-99 superconductor. Results should be available soon. Something interesting to note is that they have QUENCHED their solution in water right out of the oven. Patrick Blumenthal / @patrickjblum : Just built this working LK-99 net fusion power generator. Raising 10M to bring it to production, 2.5M left in the round. [video] @miklevin : Just a reminder folks, not all that levitates is #superconductivity. This is room temperature #levitation with diamagnetic graphite. It's not the Meissner effect, yet it's room temperature and it's levitating stable as if quantum locking. It's easy to be fooled. #Science #LK99 [video] Dan Garisto / @dangaristo : @GolinoHudson Yes, I saw that preprint. Decided not to include it in our coverage since it came later and it does not have any measurement of resistance. Alex Kaplan / @alexkaplan0 : Superconductivity research scholars in Korea have officially come together under a “replication committee” to investigate the claims of LK-99. Here is their initial assessment: [image] Steve Cranford / @cranfordmatter : Disappointed in general in academia with the overall negative “this can't be right” attitude towards #LK99. What happened to a little hope? Yes, it has to be proven, but even if disproven, it's exciting for science! We're like a bunch of disgruntled parents... “B+? Why not A++?” Prof. Michael S Fuhrer / @michaelsfuhrer : If part of the sample is insulating, and part is conducting (likely), and the insulating part happens to separate the voltage probes from the current probes, R will fall exponentially as the insulator becomes exponentially resistive at low T. 18/ https://twitter.com/... Casey Handmer, PhD / @cjhandmer : I have a PhD in theoretical physics, studied BCS theory, ran extremely complex numerical simulations, published papers on (optical) heterogeneous nanostructures, researched Landau level type stuff in 2 degree electron gas, ran calculations for SQUIDs. I still have no strong... Amilcar Bedoya Pinto / @bedoya_pinto : As a physicist dealing with thin-film devices for a couple of years, here is my take on the #LK99 arXiV (last 6-author version), focusing just on the reported resistance and current-voltage curves. My leitmotiv is: “to be a superconductor you have to beat every good metal”. 1/n Florian Knoop / @flokno_phys : Ok friends, after computing 0K harmonic phonons yesterday, I ran some more calculations for room temperature self-consistent phonons in #LK99 (details below). I doesn't look too bad! No imaginary modes, no weird behavior in all statistics I checked. Not even too anharmonic. [image] Christopher H. Hendon / @chhendon : Looking at this #LK99 structure more closely, and as others have pointed out in various ways, its not only the Cu atoms that are curious, but also the absence of a µ3-O. Most apatite structures have a channel of monovalent anions (Ca-F/OH, teeth!) etc. Alex Kaplan / @alexkaplan0 : If you think twitter is blowing up over #LK99, you should see arXiv! [image] Alex Kaplan / @alexkaplan0 : The excellent LK-99 wikipedia page has also started tracking replication attempts in real time. This is a great source for reference material if you need it! [image] Andrew Cote / @andercot : A mass-produced room-temperature superconductor would only affect industries that use electricity. @cremieuxrecueil : A new Chinese LK-99 replication effort found support for the Meissner effect at room temperature. [image] Andrew Cote / @andercot : 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 invention of the transistor. First claimed replication: https://twitter.com/... First simulations supporting original authors: https://twitter.com/...... Alex Kaplan / @alexkaplan0 : 2. According to the authors, the LK-99 material can be prepared in about 34 hrs with extremely basic lab equipment (a mortar & pestle, basic vacuum, and furnace). These results could replicate within days-weeks. [image] Andrew Cote / @andercot : LK-99 Endgame: What Happens Next & Market Size If LK-99 is a room-temperature ambient-pressure superconductor, there are three distinct possibilities depending on its eventual engineering properties. Here is a straightforward explanation of each scenario and estimated total... Alex Kaplan / @alexkaplan0 : My current reasons to / not to believe: WE'RE BACK: * Diamagnetism is pretty rare and the Meissner effect is a key way to measure SC in a bulk heterogenous material * We've seen multiple ~confirmations of diamagnetism * DFT calculations are good (small update) Andrew Cote / @andercot : In 2 days there are have been 4 studies that help explain LK-99's potential superconducting abilities. These simulations converge on key properties that suggest a new class of SC materials, and help explain quirks of TK-99 we've seen so far. Here is the easy-to-digest summary... [image] Andrew Cote / @andercot : @andrewmccalip @VardaSpace This post was originally made but the text was somehow re-copied twice and so was corrected and re-posted here. Jordan Taylor / @jordan_w_taylor : With all the buzz about #LK99 and the possibility of a room temperature superconductor, let's have a topical thread. Can a superconducting induction coil make the perfect battery? And is it world changing? Read on... [image] Andrew Cote / @andercot : @andrewmccalip @VardaSpace Here are the photos from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and here is the direct link to their paper: https://arxiv.org/...... Their conclusions support interpretations informed by simulations at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in which is that the copper... [image] @carnageremedy : That was damn fast #LK99 [image] @mattparlmer : People who are saying “it's over” every time there's a lukewarm or conservative statement from a lab working on LK-99 have a bad model of academic research A lot of the big university and state labs have an incentive to slowwalk this for a couple different reasons @condensed_the : Here are some thoughtful comments from CMTC's most-trusted SC experimentalist, Rick Greene, who has been studying SC in the lab for >60 years! [image] Daniel / @growing_daniel : You come to me, on the day of my daughter's LK-99 replication @docneuroeo : Dr. Kim (one of the author) explains LK-99 (English caption included) #LK-99 #LK99 [video] Vincent Murphy / @imbuddhish : #LK99 may not be an actual Superconductor but may have the capacity to do almost all the things we'd want a Superconductor to do (give for take) - all in favour of this outcome say ‘aye’. [image] @jason : live with the LK-99 team from @VardaSpace — success! any questions for: @zebulgar @andrewmccalip https://youtube.com/... @condmatfyz : 📷1/4📷Time to delve into physics! Yesterday, we conducted a powder X-ray experiment on prepared PbSO4 to confirm its purity. While not necessary, we seized the opportunity to explain diffraction technique - a vital tool in our research journey. Details in the thread📷#LK99 #XRD [image] Andrew Cote / @andercot : Three more replications of diamagnetism in LK-99 A re-cap of who they are and where to find them: @andrewmccalip working out of the @VardaSpace laboratories has replicated the apparent diamagnetic properties of LK-99 in the video attached. He did so following the recipe... [video] @made_in_cosmos : LK99 saga is what peer review was always meant to be, anyone on the planet with an oven and enough determination can meaningfully participate. Can't wait for this spirit to democratize all branches of science and turn it into one giant collaborative open source project. Justin Hart / @justin_hart : BREAKING! A suitcase of the hovering superconductive LK-99 from the labs in South Korea has gone missing. Footage below! [video] @msisone7 : Lk99 Superconductor Hyuntak said in interview “They wanted to hear from a superconductivity expert if their invention is indeed a superconductor. So, I told them that it is indeed a superconductor. [image] Matt Bateman / @mbateman : 1. Hedge chemists live streaming peer review is awesome 2. Pre-pub peer review has accomplished somewhere between nothing and less than nothing Cody / @codyslab : Fascinating. Have we ruled out that LK 99 is a strongly diamagnetic material? What happens when it's placed on top of some cube shaped magnets arranged like this: [image] @floates0x : When looking at the success of the LK-99 superconductor replication here, consider that a paper this week from Liang Si and Karsten Held (H-index 67) concluded that diamagnetism in LK-99 almost certainly comes paired with superconductivity, and that diamagnetism alone without... Ryan Petersen / @typesfast : Atlantis sank into the ocean when they ran out of LK-99 to keep the city levitating! Alex Kaplan / @alexkaplan0 : The Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), whose video of diamagnetism was circulating earlier, have put their results on the arXiv. This looks like the first independent lab to report strong diamagnetism in #LK99, suggesting the diamagnetism data is likely real. [image] @floates0x : NEW: Hyun-Tak Kim (writer of the 6 author LK-99 Superconductor paper) has provided the New York Times with a new video showing the levitating LK-99 sample. [video] Prof. Michael S Fuhrer / @michaelsfuhrer : I am seeing a lot of newcomers lately to the room-temperature superconductor rodeo. They might not be aware of the long history of these events, and I think there's some cross-cultural communications difficulties going on because of that. 1/ Alex Kaplan / @alexkaplan0 : CMTC probably takes the cake at predicting diamagnetism as the most likely explanation. Consider these videos of flux pinning (perfect diamagnetism) vs. moderate diamagnetism. Which one does LK-99 remind you of? Other susceptibility data points also indicate diamagnetism. [video] Forums: Hacker News : Flux Pinning in sample of LK-99 r/LK99 : First video of LK-99 Full Levitation, aka flux-pinning (twitter link with video) Trashhalo To / Beehaw : The LK-99 “superconductor” went viral — here's what the experts think