superconductors

If you’re someone who loves an internet hype cycle, good news: There’s a new group of scientists who claim to have discovered a near-room-temperature superconductor. (It should be noted that most of these people do not appear to be scientists let alone condensed-matter physicists.) The one that grabbed the most headlines — LK-99 — dominated the internet for a few weeks over the summer before succumbing to the scientific method. Another one, detailed in a paper co-authored by Ranga Dias and others, made a splash in March only to be subject to a retraction in September. This new material picks up where LK-99 left off, which isn’t really an auspicious starting point.