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Claimed superconductor LK-99 is an online sensation — but replication efforts fall short

Social media is abuzz with chatter about the material, but some scientists are pushing back on the hype.
  1. Dan Garisto
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A South Korean team’s claim to have discovered a superconductor that works at room temperature and ambient pressure has become a viral sensation — and prompted a slew of replication efforts by scientists and amateurs alike. But initial efforts to experimentally and theoretically reproduce the buzzworthy result have come up short, and researchers remain deeply sceptical.

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Nature 620, 253 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02481-0

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 07 August 2023: The original version of this story stated that the material LK-99 is claimed to be a superconductor at temperatures above 127 °C. In fact, the researchers claim LK-99 has this property up to at least 127 °C. The picture caption has also been edited for accuracy.

References

  1. Lee, S. et al. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12037 (2023).

  2. Lee, S., Kim, J.-H. & Kwon, Y.-K. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12008 (2023).

  3. Kumar, K., Karn, N. K. & Awana, V. P. S. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.16402 (2023).

  4. Liu, L. et al. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.16802 (2023).

  5. Hou, Q., Wei, W., Zhou, X., Sun, Y. & Shi, Z. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.01192 (2023).

  6. Griffin, S. M. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.16892 (2023).

  7. Lai, J., Li, J., Liu, P., Sun, Y. & Chen, X.-Q. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.16040 (2023)

  8. Kurleto, R. et al. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.00698 (2023).

  9. Si, L. & Held, K. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.00676 (2023).

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