A “possible real solution to the energy crisis” that “could change everything”. That’s how recent headlines billed the mundane lumps of a dirty-looking material known as LK-99 reported by scientists in South Korea in July. Their findings were described in two papers (https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12008 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12037) posted to the arXiv preprint server – a website where researchers present work that has not yet been subjected to peer review. They said they had “for the first time in the world” made a superconductor that worked at room temperature and at everyday pressure.
A superconductor is a material that can conduct an electric current without any resistance, meaning that no energy is lost through heat. Superconductors have been known about for more than 100 years, but previous ones have worked only at extremely low temperatures or when under very high pressures. LK-99 on the other hand, the South Korean team said, was superconductive just sitting there on a benchtop. If they had been right, the discovery would genuinely have merited the word “revolutionary”.
