Editorial Board
Will a New Superconductor Change the World?
There’s plenty of reason for skepticism. But LK-99, already a sensation, could profoundly alter the scientific landscape.
Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.
Photographer: Hyun-Tak Kim/ArXiv
Chances are, it’s nothing. But if it is something, it’s a big something.
In late July, a group of researchers published two papers reporting an extraordinary discovery: a superconductor that works at normal temperatures and pressure. Dubbed LK-99, the material consists of the mineral apatite doped with copper atoms. Like conventional superconductors, the authors say, it can conduct electricity resistance-free — but, crucially, without the need for supercool or highly pressurized conditions.