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How would room-temperature superconductors change science?

The prized materials could be transformative for research — but only if they have other essential qualities.
  1. Davide Castelvecchi
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A large-bore, full-scale high-temperature superconducting magnet built by Commonwealth Fusion Systems and MIT’s PSFC.

One of the world’s strongest superconducting magnets, built by US firm Commonwealth Fusion Systems, is being used in the development of nuclear-fusion technology. Credit: Gretchen Ertl, CFS/MIT-PSFC, 2021

The wave of excitement caused by LK-99 — the purple crystal that was going to change the world — has now died down after studies showed it wasn’t a superconductor. But a question remains: would a true room-temperature superconductor be revolutionary?

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Nature 621, 18-19 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02681-8

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