Scientists from several South Korean institutions have claimed to have developed a superconductor that can operate at room temperature and ambient pressure, according to two papers they published. The superconducting material, LK-99, is a mix of powdered lead, oxygen, sulphur, and phosphorus compounds. The results of the study, if replicated in other labs, could represent a monumental discovery because getting superconductors to operate at room temperature and ambient pressure is the Holy Grail of physics.

Conductors like copper, gold, silver, and aluminum heat up because they resist electricity flow when it passes through them. Superconductors transmit electricity with almost 100% efficiency. They have important applicability in our daily lives, too. In 1933, Walther Meissner and Robert Ochsenfeld discovered that superconductors are also perfect diamagnets, making them ideal for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Machines and magnetic levitation trains are other applications.

If the research is successful, room-temperature superconductors could cut the cost of electricity grids, computer chips, magnets for maglev trains, energy-storage devices, and fusion reactors by saving electricity and money on coolants. Quantum computing could also benefit from this research, as superconductors are the building blocks of quantum computers that use quantum bits, or qubits, to process ones and zeroes simultaneously. This research could get them to work at room temperature and ambient pressure without the need for elaborate cooling systems. However, the research is not peer-reviewed, and the results need to be replicated by others.