[For the first time in the world, we have succeeded in synthesizing room-temperature superconductors." [This is the opening passage of a paper submitted by researchers from the Quantum Energy Research Center and Korea University. The scientific community, however, is not convinced that this will happen.

Superconductors are absolutely key to devices like quantum computers. Superconductors are used to form basic qubits, which require immensely stringent operating conditions to achieve accurate results. The problem is that we know of no material that functions as a superconductor that does not require extremely low subspace temperatures to achieve superconductivity. Therein lies one problem with superconductors and their wide use today.

However, superconductors have many very important properties. Theoretically, they are absolutely energy efficient and do not require cooling for electrical conduction. In this popular tweet (X, sorry) thread by Alex Kaplan, a frozen coffee enthusiast and Princeton physics graduate, how effective room temperature superconductors allow lossless energy transfer, enable new fusion concepts, and make amazing batteries, make fully efficient computer chips, and even make MRI machines and maglev trains cheaper and easier. [You can see why a material that can operate as a superconductor at or near room temperature is a bit exciting. [The paper introduces a superconductor called LK-99, which is easy to fabricate, can be produced in large quantities, and operates at room temperature and at ambient pressure.

However, there is a catch. An examination of the scientific community's reaction to the announcement reveals that some were initially skeptical of the paper's claims.

First, the paper's findings have not yet been replicated.

Then, Jacob Aron, news editor of the well-known science journal New Scientist, is investigating the matter and mentions, "Spoiler alert: it's very likely nothing."

Ouch.

There is another claim to this world-first breakthrough, and the reason you haven't lived in utopia since then is because that claim has not been very well accepted since then: in 2021, a physicist named Ranga Diaz wrote in Physical Review Letters that room temperature super In 2021, a physicist named Ranga Diaz published a paper in Physical Review Letters claiming to have discovered room-temperature superconductors. This paper was later retracted on suspicion of data fabrication.

While that 2021 paper is not directly related to this paper and has no effect on its ratification, it does show that claims of incredible breakthroughs of this kind must be taken with multiple layers of salt until they are widely proven to be true.

Nevertheless, one cannot blame those who want this to be true. It is no exaggeration to say that such breakthroughs have the potential to ultimately transform society. It is no exaggeration to say that such breakthroughs have the potential to ultimately change society significantly. Whether we will see it in our lifetime, however, no one can say for sure. At the very least, this paper may be a step in the right direction, if nothing else.