> one of the researchers carefully sandwiches lanthanum foil and hydrogen gas in between the diamonds’ flat surfaces. Then [...] the researcher generates pressures of at least 170 GPa—pressures similar to those in the Earth’s core—between the diamond tips. Then [...] the team heat the material with laser pulses, producing the chemical reaction that would create the material.<p>It is always humbling to read about what it takes to do cutting edge research. This article was good at conveying the efforts required.<p>I do wonder if studying these simple hydrogen-based compounds is a dead end though. I believe the same mechanism (phonon-electron coupling) is at work here, than in conventional superconductors, so the physics is well-understood. It's been established that this mechanism can only support superconductivity up to 30-40 K at normal pressures [1]. Unconventional superconductors, on the other hand, don't have this hard limit, so there is probably more knowledge to be gained from studying those, which could be used to propose new, better superconductors.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCS_theory" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCS_theory</a>
> zero resistance in the material at temperatures higher than 8 Fahrenheit (-13 Celsius), perhaps as high as 44 Fahrenheit (7 Celsius)<p>> The teams synthesized only about a dust-speck worth of [lanthanum hydride] from expensive ingredients crushed to unfathomable pressures between hand-cranked diamond halves<p>While the temperatures are amazing (when I was young, superconductivity above 0 Celsius was the stuff of science fiction), the material might not have commercial applications in the near future.<p>Instead, why not use active cooling and powerful insulation? Like this: <a href="https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/world-first-as-wind-turbine-upgraded-with-high-temperature-superconductor/3009780.article" rel="nofollow">https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/world-first-as-wind-turb...</a>
I remember when I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s there was all this talk about room-temperature superconductors being right around the corner. Getting to 8 degrees F is a big advance even if it is only tiny amounts.
My high school physics teacher (~2006) told us once when discussing career prospects that if you could build/discover a material that was a superconductor at room temperature, you'd probably end up the richest person in the world.<p>I've never forgotten that, and it sounds like the challenge still stands.
Ever read Larry Niven's "Ringworld"? Don't forget that the Puppeteers destroyed the Ringworld's technological civilization by creating a substance that destroyed their superconductors. If we ever invent them it will be fantastic, but it will also be a central vulnerability to our civilization - but I guess we have other ones already.