The University of Rochester researchers have created a superconducting material that functions at both a temperature and pressure low enough for practical applications.
“With this material, the dawn of ambient superconductivity and applied technologies has arrived,” said the press release, which was published today by a team led by Ranga Dias, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and physics.
The new material is a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride (NDLH) that exhibits superconductivity at 69 degrees Fahrenheit and 10 kilobars (145,000 pounds per square inch, or psi) of pressure.
The 69 F temperature is nice, but it's hard to see how 145,000 pounds per square inch of pressure can be called "practical." To read more, click here.