Researchers synthesize room temperature superconducting material

Dias and his research team combined hydrogen with carbon and sulfur to photochemically synthesize simple organic-derived carbonaceous sulfur hydride in a diamond anvil cell, a research device used to examine miniscule amounts of materials under extraordinarily high pressure.

The carbonaceous sulfur hydride exhibited superconductivity at about 58 degrees Fahrenheit and a pressure of about 39 million psi. This is the first time that superconducting material has been observed at room temperatures.

The amount of superconducting material created by the diamond anvil cells is measured in picoliters—about the size of a single inkjet particle.

The next challenge, Dias says, is finding ways to create the room temperature superconducting materials at lower pressures, so they will be economical to produce in greater volume. In comparison to the millions of pounds of pressure created in diamond anvil cells, the atmospheric pressure of Earth at sea level is about 15 PSI.

Phys.org, October 14, 2020 - Researchers synthesize room temperature superconducting material.

From Nature,

Here we report superconductivity in a photochemically transformed carbonaceous sulfur hydride system, starting from elemental precursors, with a maximum superconducting transition temperature of 287.7 ± 1.2 kelvin (about 15 degrees Celsius) achieved at 267 ± 10 gigapascals. he superconducting state is observed over a broad pressure range in the diamond anvil cell, from 140 to 275 gigapascals, with a sharp upturn in transition temperature above 220 gigapascals. Superconductivity is established by the observation of zero resistance, a magnetic susceptibility of up to 190 gigapascals, and reduction of the transition temperature under an external magnetic field of up to 9 tesla, with an upper critical magnetic field of about 62 tesla according to the Ginzburg–Landau model at zero temperature. The light, quantum nature of hydrogen limits the structural and stoichiometric determination of the system by X-ray scattering techniques, but Raman spectroscopy is used to probe the chemical and structural transformations before metallization. The introduction of chemical tuning within our ternary system could enable the preservation of the properties of room-temperature superconductivity at lower pressures.

Room-temperature superconductivity in a carbonaceous sulfur hydride. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2801-z.

Well considering the speed at this was done, from theory, to making metallic hydrogen (maybe Harvard in 2017), to making superhydrides with Tc moving towards room temperature to this announcement, that is really quick! Usually these things take a snails pace throughout a decade or more but in less than 5 years, with a slightly different approach, they have a room temperature superconductor!!

Of course the pressure that thing is at is ridiculous and is totally impractical but that is where this new method comes in. Starting with pure elements, including carbon, they can tune the resultant to be similar in structure to what theory says metallic hydrogen should look like (and what the other made hydroxides looked like). Now they can keep on tuning!

BTW, for those who do not follow science, a superconductor is a material, that when cooled down to the "critical temperature" (I think that it is the Curie temperature of the molecules itself), Tc, the electrons pair up and travel without resistance. You can put more electricity in and out it comes without generating any heat by losing electrons in the material. And "Pascal" is measure of pressure. "Giga" is 10^9. So in order to create little flakes, they have spent a lot of energy!

Why it matters:

Applications include:

* Power grids that transmit electricity without the loss of up to 200 million megawatt hours (MWh) of the energy that now occurs due to resistance in the wires.

* A new way to propel levitated trains and other forms of transportation.

* Medical imaging and scanning techniques such as MRI and magnetocardiography.

* Faster, more efficient electronics for digital logic and memory device technology.

(phys.org article)

It has been rumored to exist. It has been rumored to have been made. But finally, we have lab results that prove that room temperature superconductivity is real. And we have a path to move forward to make the Holy Grail of science a reality in out world.

Next stop, the future!!

U-tube:

The world's first roomtemperature superconductor


Also from phys.org. I can't watch right now but I will assume that it is a video version of the typed story. But you get to see the diamond anvil and other cool techy stuff!!

PS - it is 44 °F | 7 °C here in Anchortown with snow coming down on the mountains! Which means we are colder than their sample when they made the RTSC!!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

39 million psi

LOL.

That is approximately 5,909 male Borneo Pygmy Elephants standing on top of each other, with the bottom one doing some serious tip toe action.

a reply to: myselfaswell

Or the center of Jupiter!

That is why the 2017 Harvard "announcement" (IIRC, it was leaked on twitter) was so frustrating. The contraption (their diamond anvil) broke when they went to ship it to Sandia (??) for testing. They couldn't find a trace of their product.

A world wide power grid of lossless power cables would be damn cool. But quantum computers, our current internet, the cloud, everything that consumes electricity could have pieces put inside them!

The whole world, sharing power! Where did I leave my lyric sheet for Kumbaya at...

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

While I do appreciate your optimism regarding the use of this tech......I'm afraid I do not share it.

A world wide power grid of lossless power cables would be damn cool.

Yep, it would be cool and most likely will be for those who get to be included in the future.

Not trying to be a downer, just realistic.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Great thread
Now off to watch the video
Thanks

a reply to: myselfaswell

5,909 male Borneo Pygmy

My calculations say 7911 Borneo pygmy elephants.

Might be better using African Swallows

If they let out the medical tech that enables centuries of good health, next, I'll be convinced I've had a psychotic beak and start psychiatrist shopping.

Thanks for some good news!

a reply to: TheConstruKctionofLight

My calculations say 7911 Borneo pygmy elephants

You must be talking about Imperial Borneo Pygmy Elephants.

a reply to: Baddogma

The slow, drop fed release of “higher tech” got a full, 2 litre Mt. Dew with this one!

I am pretty sure that everything that creates or uses electricity will, eventually, benefit. Wind turbines, wrist watches, satellites of love, will actually help the planet from being the cesspool that we have made.

I just wonder if it is past my time? That is the real Debbie Downer!

But fusion fanboy has said, energy storage and lossless transmission are the two legs before a reactor can come on line.

You are aware that the resistance of the wire is used to limit the short circuit potential of a power source? That is why the transformer is installed away from the house or business. The wire resistance keeps the breakers from shorting out or exploding when they trip.

I can see this eventually replacing some of the longer runs in the distribution system but the switch gear at the sub stations will have to be sized up tremendously to handle the available energy when operating, tripping or failing. Electrical substations will probably be about 10 times bigger to contain the equipment. It will probably take 10 years or more after the superconductor is developed just to figure out how to install and protect it properly.

A short circuit or arc over at a substation fed by superconductors will make lightning look safe to touch.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I've been a sucker for the enlightened, fun visions of our future ...but am guilty of letting others do the hard lifting while enjoying the fruits of their labor!

Thinking, maybe that's one of the reasons the breakaway civ narrative was satisfying! The guys supposedly living a Star Trek wet dream didn't get there on their own, but were benefiting from our ancestor's sweat, too, heh.

Oh well, the human race is a collective of individuals... individual strengths benefiting the holistic whole. In my worldview, the left and right are both partially correct!

Clean nearly unlimited energy, manipulation at the atomic level and a new age of non homicidal reason would be nice ... maybe next week?

a reply to: beyondknowledge

A transformer “changes” the amount and type of current in the circuit. Step up and step down transformers. The wire is not used for that purpose. The wires move electrons through the material that they are made of. It is the gauge of theses wires that determine how much energy that they can carry. It is breakers and fuses that break the circuit so it does not run amok. The wire’s AWG gauge determines its application. There are the same for high voltage lines but I have never worked with those so can not tell about the terms used. But the ideas are same.

Here is a bit better explanation about how wires work and what RTSC will do (and the article explains why it is so difficult. SPOILER: it is because SC is a quantum phenomenon).

Electrical resistance occurs in normal wires when freely flowing electrons bump into the atoms that make up the metal. But researchers discovered in 1911 that at low temperatures, electrons can induce vibrations in a metal’s atomic lattice, and those vibrations in turn draw electrons together into couples known as Cooper pairs. Different quantum rules govern these couples, which stream together in a coherent swarm that passes through the metal’s lattice unimpeded, experiencing no resistance whatsoever. The superconducting fluid also expels magnetic fields — an effect that could allow magnetically levitating vehicles to float frictionlessly above superconducting rails.

Quatamagazine.org - Room Temperature Superconductivity Achieved for the First Time

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

The vid is explanation by Dr. Ranga Dias [eta: I butchered that name! lol] himself, w/a lab tour, giving an overview of what the lab did.

Good stuff!!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I always wanted my desktop to be superconducting - operations happen instantly but hardware will be a bottleneck
and will evolve to be more efficient.

Supercomputers use cooling to lower their
equipment to superconducting temperatures.
I think it's ay STP but it might be under
some pressurized system.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

You have never specified the rating for a new install on a 2000 amp 480 volt service entrance have you? The more wire length from the transformer to the service entrance, the lower the instantaneous short potential and therefore the lower rating needed to stop a potential short. The higher the rating, the more expensive and bigger the main breaker. Knowing this and applying it to the power grid is where I got the information on my above post you replied to.

Wire gauge has nothing to do with superconductors. The smallest one theoretically has infinite energy potential. It has the same potential as the generating source and transfers the entire load to the source instantly. There are no fuses, breakers, or other protection devices in existance now that can handle that.

Until the superconductor wire is developed there is no way to design any protection devices for it because there can be no testing. No existing devices will work because they can't handle infinite energy.

Also, substations switch power on and off from different sources and to different loads. Some also change the voltage. None are capable of switching infinite power that will be available from a superconductor. The technology does not exist now and will probably be harder to get right than the superconductor.

This information is a step in the right direction and you are thinking of a finished product but this is like step 5 of 100,

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

there are new superconductors that use very radioactive isotopes and are close to true room temperature super conductors



ETA: i live right next to UofR

Many many years ago I kept a dream journal. I would say in the early 1990's. I clearly remember having a dream once where I was shown that room temperature superconductor was a key component to anti-gravity machines.

I never had any other dreams similar before or after as far as I can remember. There wasn't much else to it. I am sure it means nothing. Just odd to me that the thought came back into my head after reading this OP.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

You crossed your wires. [ETA, and did not read very well when I said that I do not know exactly how to work with certain forms of electricity but do the physics, and math, do not change! Read carefully what I say because it is not just a lame ass text but an attempt at meaningful communication]

I explained that a total circuit has a predetermined amount of energy it can carry. The wire’s gauge, DC or AC, is calculated in. Other circuit parts do their job which is mostly to protect the wire itself. Removing the resistance in distribution has little to do with your useful energy at the receiving end. It just changes the equation.

Taking current tech wires out changes the circuit and will have to be recalculated. I got it.

But in the gross, overall sense, the result would be the same: a RTSC changes how we do electricity. And my comments are, for the better! And not just distribution but how everything else would work after the switch.

I am not laying out a plan to implement this switch over in technology but wondering out loud how different it will be.

And am a bit peeved that this is in the future that I can envision but may not be part of.

The OP is about the reality of what has only been a dream (by us dreamers... eh Astr0??) and then the places it will lead to. Not a plan on how to implement it all.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I agree with you that I am peeved at many things that have not come to pass. If congress had continued funding instead of stopping after Apollo, we would have people on Mars for years by now and be mining the asteroids.

I am trying to say about this superconductor system is, theoretically, all our power system will need to be changes because the protection we use not is not even applicable to the new system. It will take time and many disasters before it is safe.

Main circuit breakers have several ratings but the ones you are not understanding are the amperage and the short circuit rating. The amperage is where the breaker is supposed to trip. You have that one. The short circuit rating is how much is available from the power source if you tie the wires together and turn the power on. This is much higher than the amp rating. The example I used above was rated to stop 20,000 amps which was the next higher one than calculated. The wire length and gauge is applied to the maximum power available from the source. In the example, that was about 15,000 amps at the breaker. The breaker will trip at 2,000 amps after a time but the switch inside has to open and block more than is available from the source. In this case it was rated at 20,000 amps. Shorter wire run is higher energy and longer is less during a short circuit. Wire gauge calculations are based on how much you can safely run through a size of wire continuously , at up to 100 feet, not short circuits.

The breaker contacts have to open up a larger gap to handle stopping the higher energy available during a short, not the trip rating. The same applies to a switch in the power grid. The more energy available the more gap needed to stop it. Superconductors theoretically change this energy to whatever the total is that all power plants are putting into it. We have no equipment that can handle this now and it will take many years to develop.