University of Houston researchers have achieved a major superconductivity breakthrough by setting a new temperature record for superconductors operating under ambient pressure conditions. The advance could eventually help create more efficient electrical grids, improved energy storage systems, faster electronics, and new technologies for fusion energy and medical imaging.
Scientists from the Texas Center for Superconductivity (TcSUH) and the University of Houston department of physics reached a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 151 Kelvin (about minus 122 degrees Celsius). That is now the highest Tc ever reported for a superconductor functioning at ambient pressure since superconductivity was first discovered in 1911.
The transition temperature marks the point where a material can carry electricity with zero resistance. Increasing this temperature has been one of the biggest goals in superconductivity research because higher operating temperatures could make superconducting technologies far more practical and affordable.
The findings by physicists Ching-Wu Chu and Liangzi Deng were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Funding for the work came from Intellectual Ventures, the state of Texas through TcSUH, and several foundations.
To read more, click here.