The superconducting material LK-99, invented in South Korea, behaved like an insulator when tested. About this socialbites.ca reported At the Institute of Physics named after PN. Lebedev RAS (FIAN).
In July 2023, Korean physicist Lee Sukbae and colleagues published a preprint of a paper describing the process of creating a superconductor that can conduct current with zero loss at room temperature and normal pressure. Because modern superconducting cables require cooling with liquid nitrogen, scientists have long sought to discover such a material. However, other research groups tried to reproduce the LK-99 and did not confirm the results of the Korean scientists.
“The experiment showed that the Korean “superconductor” is actually an insulator. You introduce a current there – and nothing happens. Also, we started the experiments at room temperature (23 °C), with superconductivity recorded at temperatures of 125 °C and below, according to the development’s authors. The samples were negative. In terms of electrical properties, LK-99 is similar to porcelain from which industrial insulators are made, one of the scientists at the Center for High-Temperature Superconductivity and Quantum Materials, Kirill Pervakov, told socialbites.ca. ”said VL Ginzburg FIAN.
In addition, the LK-99 does not respond to the magnetic field, while truly superconducting materials are repelled by a magnet. Pervakov and his colleagues are almost certain that the Korean scientists were wrong, because their superconductors are not like other similar materials. But Russian physicists are willing to admit that Lee Sukbae and his colleagues reproduced their experiments incorrectly because of the extremely poor quality of the paper they published.
Previously, scientists with the naked eye saw Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation in thermonuclear fusion.