The hydrogen, carbon and sulphur compound operates as a superconductor at up to 15 degrees Celsius, as reported by Quanta Magazine and the BBC. The findings have been reported in detail in the popular journal Nature.
In a major milestone for science, a group of physicists at the University of Rochester in New York have discovered a material that can efficiently conduct electricity at room temperature.
A magnet floats above a superconductor cooled with liquid nitrogen.(University of Rochester)
The hydrogen, carbon and sulphur compound operates as a superconductor at up to 15 degrees Celsius, as reported by Quanta Magazine and the BBC. The findings have been reported in detail in the popular journal Nature.
The BBC quotes Dr Ranga Dias, from the University of Rochester, as saying, “Because of the limits of low temperature, materials with such extraordinary properties have not quite transformed the world in the way that many might have imagined.
“However, our discovery will break down these barriers and open the door to many potential applications.”
The scientists behind the phenomenal discovery call it a massive leap in a pursuit that has lasted more than 100 years.
“This is the first time we can really claim that room temperature superconductivity has been found,” Ion Errea, a condensed matter theorist at the University of the Basque Country in Spain who was not involved in the work, was quoted as saying by Quanta. The magazine also quoted Chris Pickard, a materials scientist at the University of Cambridge, as remarking, “It’s clearly a landmark. That’s a chilly room, maybe a British Victorian cottage.”