Scientists have been researching superconductors for over a century, but they have yet to find one that works at room temperature − 3 essential reads

The search for the room-temperature superconductor continues. Charles O'Rear/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

If you hadn’t heard about superconductors before 2023, odds are you know what they are now. Researchers raised eyebrows early in the year with claims of operational room-temperature superconductors, though none has been substantiated, and one paper from researchers at the University of Rochester was retracted by the journal Nature at the authors’ request in November.

But the hunt for a superconductor – that is, a material that can conduct electricity without resistance – that can operate at room temperature is nothing new.