Will LK-99 Be Replicable & Result In The Next Nobel Prize(s)
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The talk of the town now is LK-99, on Twitter as well as all cable television news networks.
In July-August of 2023, a research team from South Korea published papers claiming that they have found a material that can act as a room-temperature superconductor at temperature of up to 400 degree K. (or 260 degree F, well above room temperature) at ambient pressure. Their papers claimed that it can be made with basic lab equipment in only a few days. Despite global effort in trying to replicate the papers’ findings, there is no clear consensus on if it really is replicable. Thus far, researchers from Huazhong University of China claimed to have replicated the results, assuring that LK-99 does exhibit the Meissner Effect, and even releasing a video of it doing so. Three labs in China have managed to create LK-99, with different results: one showing LK-99 levitating over a magnet, one lab did not observe zero resistance, one lab did observe zero resistance but at -163 degree C. Due to the drama associated with another paper published in Nature in 2020 (by physicists from University of Rochester of USA), claiming to have created a room temperature superconductor from a combination of carbon sulfur and hydrogen under extreme pressure, but the paper was retracted in 2022 because no other researchers were able to replicate the results. As a result, the finding by South Korean research team is under greater scrutiny, with multiple other independent teams also in the race for replication. If replicable, many in the scientific community believe that members of the South Korean team would be recipients of Nobel Prize, possibly in both physics and chemistry (therefore allowing 6 recipients in total, with 3 from each category). Ultimately, application of the scientific method is key and much of its exact chemistry and physics remain to be discovered. The superconductor of the South Korean research group is actually easy and cheap to make, needing only: lead oxide, lead sulfate, copper powder, and phosphorus, involving 3-step solid state process (putting ingredients inside a sealed quartz tube and cook it in a lab oven at less than 1000 degree C for about 4 days) .
If the findings by South Korean team is duplicable, it will have tremendous impact on almost every engineering discipline, from MRI to transportation (such as levitating trains), room temperature superconductor batteries, nuclear fusion, our entire power transmission system, quantum computing, and many others.
The superconductor was discovered in 1911. But to date, superconductivity has only been achieved in freezing temperatures. Why does a room-temperature superconductor continue to evade researchers? And how can a discovery be life-changing? Vikram Chandra explains, in the video published on Aug. 5, 2023, by WION, as “Room-Temperature Superconductor: Why does it still evade scientists?| This World“, below:
For better understanding of Superconductor, please refer to the excerpt from wikipedia, in italics, below:
A superconductor is a substance that conducts electricity without resistance when it becomes colder than a “critical temperature.” At this temperature, electrons can move freely through the material. Superconductors are different from ordinary conductors, such as copper. Ordinary conductors lose their resistance (get more conductive) slowly as they get colder. In contrast, superconductors lose their resistance all at once. This is an example of a phase transition. High magnetic fields destroy superconductivity and restore the normal conducting state. Some examples of superconductors are the metals mercury and lead, ceramics and organic carbon nanotubes.
Normally, a magnet moving by a conductor produces currents in the conductor by electromagnetic induction. But a superconductor actually pushes out magnetic fields entirely by inducing surface currents. Instead of letting the magnetic field pass through, the superconductor acts like a magnet pointing the opposite way, which repels the real magnet. This is called the Meissner effect, and it can be demonstrated by levitating a superconductor over magnets or vice versa.
For more details about LK-99, please refer to the excerpt from wikipedia, in italics, below:
LK-99 (from the Lee-Kim 1999 research)[2] is a gray-black, polycrystalline compound, made by doping lead‒apatite with copper. A team from Korea University led by Sukbae Lee (이석배) and Ji-Hoon Kim (김지훈) began evaluating this material as a potential superconductor starting in 1999.[3]: 1 In 2023, they published papers claiming that it acts as a room-temperature superconductor[3]: 8 , at temperatures of up to 400 K (127 °C; 260 °F) at ambient pressure.[2][4][3]: 1
As of 8 August 2023, the scientific community has not validated the superconductivity of LK-99 at any temperature through peer-reviewed processes or independent replication by other research groups.[5] One preprint by a team from Southeast University, China has reported an observation of zero resistance at 110 K (-163 ℃, -261 ℉).[6] However, the absence of a well-defined phase transition, absence of the Meissner effect (a defining characteristic of superconductors), and the unique conditions under which these results were obtained raised doubts about the validity of the claim. Multiple other independent research teams are currently attempting to replicate the work of the South Korean team. More results are expected in August 2023, as the process of producing the material is said to be straightforward.[7]
The initial studies announcing the discovery of LK-99 were uploaded to arXiv, an open-access repository of electronic preprints. Lee later claimed the uploaded preprint papers were incomplete,[8] and coauthor Hyun-Tak Kim (김현탁) stated that one of the papers contained defects.[9]
Physical properties
Some LK-99 samples have been reported to show strong diamagnetic properties, including partial levitation over a magnet,[10] which is correlated with superconductivity.
While the initial articles claim the material is a room-temperature superconductor,[10]: 1 they do not claim to have seen definitive features of superconductivity, zero resistance and the Meissner effect.
Because many materials can spuriously seem like potential candidates for high-temperature superconductivity,[14] researchers testing for superconductivity generally demonstrate not only a zero-resistance mode and a clear Meissner effect, but also demonstrate other expected properties such as flux pinning, AC magnetic susceptibility, the Josephson effect, a temperature-dependent critical field and current, or a sudden jump in specific heat around the critical temperature.[15] As of 8 August 2023, none of these have been observed by the original experiment or by attempted replications.[16]
In this video, Unveiled takes a closer look at what’s already being called the Holy Grail of physics – the discover of the room temperature superconductor, LK-99! in the video published on Aug 8, 2023, by Unveiled, as “Did Scientists Just Discover The Holy Grail Of Physics?| Unveiled“, below:
Is this the Biggest Discovery of the Century? Physics has always been my favorite field of study. Everything from how planes fly, to how solar panels work… but in the quantum world, things get weird and interesting. This new breakthrough coming out of Korea has the potential to be one of the biggest breakthroughs of the CENTURY. A room temperature, ambient pressure Superconductor. So how exactly does it work, is this research legit, and why does it matter? Let’s figure this out together! Room Temperature Ambient Pressure Super Conductor Breakthrough, in the video published on July 29, 2023, by Two Bit da Vinci, as “LK-99 Superconductor Breakthrough – Why it MATTERS!“, below:
Korean Scientists Claim Superconductor Breakthrough | Vantage with Palki Sharma Scientists from South Korea are claiming to have developed a superconductor material that works at room temperature. The material, called LK-99, could revolutionize power transmission, battery life and computing. Labs in China and the US have begun verifying the claim from South Korea. If proven, how important is this invention? Why are superconductors so important? Palki Sharma tells you, in the video published on Aug 4, 2023, by Firstpost, as “Korean Scientists Claim Superconductor Breakthrough | Vantage with Palki Sharma“, below:
Today I have an update on the reproduction efforts for the supposed room temperature superconductor, LK 99, the first images from the Euclid mission, more trouble with Starlink satellites, first results from a new simulation for cosmological structure formation, how to steer drops with ultrasound, bacteria that make plastic, an improvement for wireless power transfer, better earthquake warnings, an attempt to predict war, and of course the telephone will ring, in the video published on Aug 8, 2023, by Sabine Hossenfelder, as “Superconductor LK99 Update“, below:
LK-99 is a candidate for a room temperature ambient pressure superconductor proposed by several authors at Qcentre in Korea. Since the original papers, in the video published on Aug 5, 2023, by NYU Quantum Technology Lab, as “Why scientists are so skeptical of the LK-99 room temperature ambient pressure superconductor“, below:
What is a superconductor? LK-99 claims to be the first room-temperature superconductor, and if true, it could revolutionize the direction of technology for humanity, in the video published on July 29, 2023, by Fireship, as ““World-changing” LK-99 Superconductor explained quickly“, below:
Nick Cheng, Jefferies analyst, joins ‘Last Call’ to talk investors paying close attention to the new superconductor LK-99, in the video published on Aug 3, 2023, by CNBC Television, as “Investing in the LK-99 hype“, below:
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
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