Superconductor innovation ignites investor frenzy, but scientists remain skeptical

Last week, the discovery of a practical superconductor by South Korean scientists sparked a social media frenzy and increased the price of some stocks in South Korea and China.

Superconductors are objects that enable electrical current to flow without resistance. Superconductivity holds the power to revolutionize power grids by preventing energy loss during transmission and also in advanced fields like computing chips, where electrical resistance is a speed limit.

The two papers by the South Korean scientists, which appeared on a website used by scientists to share research prior to being subjected to a formal peer review and publication, spurred researchers worldwide — including  in at least three Chinese university labs and two US national labs — to take a closer look at the proposed material.

Superconducting materials are already found in instruments like MRI machines for medical imaging and in quantum computers. However, they only exhibit their superconducting qualities at incredibly low temperatures, making them impractical for regular use.

Last week, South Korean researchers announced that they had discovered a superconductor that operates at room temperature, which has long been regarded as the scientific equivalent of the proverbial "holy grail."

The researchers also provided a recipe for creating the substance, known as LK-99, which calls for adding a small quantity of copper atoms to the relatively common mineral called lead apatite.

Two papers were released by the South Korean researchers, one with three authors and the other with six authors but only two of the original three authors from the first paper.