One of the Secrets to Superconductors has been Decoded

The microscopic structure of high-temperature superconductors has long puzzled scientists seeking to harness their virtually limitless technological potential. Now at last researchers have deciphered the cryptic structure of one class of the superconductors, providing a basis for theories about how they manage to transport electricity with perfect efficiency when cooled, and how scientists might raise their operating temperature closer to room temperature.

Scientists believe room-temperature superconductivity would have an impact on a par with that of the laser, a 1960 invention that now plays an important role in an estimated $7.5 trillion in economic activity.

“In the same way that a laser is a hell of a lot more powerful than a light bulb, room-temperature superconductivity would completely change how you transport electricity and enable new ways of using electricity,” said Louis Taillefer, a professor of physics at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec.

Though further tests are needed, Sachdev’s theory is garnering support from many experts, who say it succinctly captures key features of the materials.

The rate of progress in recent months has been “almost overwhelming for us,” Comin said. With better experimental tools at their disposal, he and other researchers described rushing to publish one interesting new result after another as fascinating papers by their competitors piled up on their desks.

Arxiv – Intra-unit-cell Nematic Density Wave: Unified Broken-Symmetry of the Cuprate Pseudogap State

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