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Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

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Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby outcast » Tue 02 Sep 2008, 03:12:36

Granted the article is a couple months old, but it still is very interesting.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have for the first time identified a key component to unravelling the mystery of room temperature superconductivity, according to a paper published in today's edition of the scientific journal Nature.

The quest for room temperature superconductivity has gripped physics researchers since they saw the possibility more than two decades ago. Materials that could potentially transport electricity with zero loss (resistance) at room temperature hold vast potential; some of the possible applications include a magnetically levitated superfast train, efficient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), lossless power generators, transformers, and transmission lines, powerful supercomputers, etc.

Unfortunately, scientists have been unable to decipher how copper oxide materials superconduct at extremely cold temperatures (such as that of liquid nitrogen), much less design materials that can superconduct at higher temperatures.

Materials that are known to superconduct at the highest temperatures are, unexpectedly, ceramic insulators that behave as magnets before 'doping' (the method of introducing impurities to a semiconductor to modify its electrical properties). Upon doping charge carriers (holes or electrons) into these parent magnetic insulators, they mysteriously begin to superconduct, i.e. the doped carriers form pairs that carry electricity without loss.

The essential conundrum facing researchers in this area has been: how does a magnet that cannot transport electricity transform into a superconductor that is a perfect conductor of electricity? The Cambridge team have made a significant advance in answering this question.

The researchers have discovered where the charge 'hole' carriers that play a significant role in the superconductivity originate within the electronic structure of copper-oxide superconductors. These findings are particularly important for the next step of deciphering the glue that binds the holes together and determining what enables them to superconduct...........................


There's more there, check it out.
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby Tanada » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 10:52:06

The mechanisms for strong electron-phonon coupling predicted for hydrogen-rich alloys with high superconducting critical temperature (Tc) are examined within the Migdal-Eliashberg theory. Analysis of the functional derivative of Tc with respect to the electron-phonon spectral function shows that at low pressures, when the alloys often adopt layered structures, bending vibrations have the most dominant effect. At very high pressures, the H-H interactions in two- and three-dimensional extended structures are weakened, resulting in mixed bent (libration) and stretch vibrations, and the electron-phonon coupling process is distributed over a broad frequency range leading to very high Tc.


Electron-phonon coupling mechanisms for hydrogen-rich metals at high pressure

But in a new article published in the American Physical Society’s journal Physical Review B, a team of scientists from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada show theoretical progress toward achieving higher-temperature superconductors. In this study, Kaori Tanaka, John Tse, and Hanyu Liu (now at the Carnegie Institution for Science) establish guidelines that can help scientists design and synthesize chemical compounds that are predicted to be superconductors at higher temperatures, perhaps even near room temperature.

Hydrogen, the lightest of the elements, has played one of the lead roles in superconductivity research. More than 80 years ago, physicists predicted that molecular hydrogen could become metallic if you cool it down and put it under extremely high pressure. Solid metallic hydrogen is thought to be superconducting and meta-stable, which means that once created, it would remain superconducting at room temperature and pressure. Earlier this year, a team from Harvard announced the creation of metallic hydrogen at an astounding pressure of nearly 5 million atmospheres and a temperature of about -450°F (5.5K), but this result has yet to be verified. (For more on the experiment, check out Metallic Hydrogen at Last?)

The highest-temperature superconductor discovered to date is hydrogen sulfide (H2S). In 2015, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany discovered that this compound of hydrogen and sulfur became superconducting when subject to a pressure of about 1.5 million atmospheres and then cooled to a temperature below around -94°F (203K). This surprisingly high temperature, say the scientists behind this new research, increases the possibility that even higher transition temperatures could exist in compounds of hydrogen and other elements, called hydrides.

In the last ten years, hydrides have become an increasingly popular area of interest for superconductivity researchers. Computational studies of how electrons are arranged in hydrogen-rich compounds suggest that several hydrides will become high temperature superconductors at high pressures. For example, CaH6 and YH6 are expected to become superconducting at temperatures above -100°F (200K). Of course, even 0°F is not what most of us would call “high temperature,” but it brings us closer to a reality in which superconductors could be cooled with ice instead of expensive liquid helium or liquid nitrogen systems.

There have been several theoretical and experimental studies exploring the superconductivity of individual hydrides, but this new research aims to build a more general framework describing the underlying mechanisms of high temperature superconductivity in hydrogen-rich materials. The ultimate goal is to create a set of rules that scientists can use to design and synthesize new hydrogen compounds that are likely to be superconducting at high temperatures.

In order to do this, Tanaka and his colleagues went back to physics fundamentals. Using the conventional theory of superconductivity, they studied different kinds of hydrides that newer computational models predict will become superconducting at high temperatures—including one made from lead and one made of yttrium, among others. Based on their analysis, the team determined some of the physical characteristics of hydrides that seem to be most effective in increasing the temperature at which a compound becomes superconducting. For example, their work suggests that the molecular structure of a hydride is important, and that certain geometrical arrangements of hydrogen atoms seem to promote high temperature superconductivity.

In light of their results, the researchers propose possible paths to designing a hydrogen compound that is superconducting near room temperature. Although the path is not as simple as just following a recipe, the team’s holistic view offers direction that could help experimentalists reach higher temperature superconductors more quickly.

On the discovery of superconductors, author and physicist Stephen Blundell wrote in his book Superconductivity: A Very Short Introduction, “Superconductors were not just better than ordinary conductors of electricity, they were of a completely different order, as strange and mysterious as a visitor from the planet Krypton wearing underpants over his trousers." The hope is that in the near future, this strange discovery can be an ally in our quest to use energy more efficiently and responsibly.


Theoretical Progress Toward Room Temperature Superconductors
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby evilgenius » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 12:16:33

It makes me wonder what transmission lines of the future might look like. Big changes there might bring changes to the way we live.
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby dolanbaker » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 15:40:57

I would say that the biggest changes to the electrical transmission system will come when batteries are cheap and long lasting enough to reconfigure the grid to emulate a physical fuel distribution network.

By this I mean the electricity is no longer generated for immediate consumption, rather it is generated for storage in battery banks at the source of generation and then sent down transmission lines to substations that have storage and then to the consumer who will also have storage. Some consumers who have their own solar or wind generation will be able to feed some spare energy back to the substation at times. The transmission lines between each set of batteries will be operating independently of the other lines.
This type of segmented network would be virtually immune from cascading blackouts taking out huge areas at once and bring down neighbouring networks.

This would emulate the transfer of petrol from a refinery to distribution centres to petrol station then finally to fuel tanks on the car.

Superconductors would certainly help in reducing the transmission losses but that's all.
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby StarvingLion » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 16:06:20

dolanbaker wrote:I would say that the biggest changes to the electrical transmission system will come when batteries are cheap and long lasting enough to reconfigure the grid to emulate a physical fuel distribution network.

By this I mean the electricity is no longer generated for immediate consumption, rather it is generated for storage in battery banks at the source of generation and then sent down transmission lines to substations that have storage and then to the consumer who will also have storage. Some consumers who have their own solar or wind generation will be able to feed some spare energy back to the substation at times. The transmission lines between each set of batteries will be operating independently of the other lines.
This type of segmented network would be virtually immune from cascading blackouts taking out huge areas at once and bring down neighbouring networks.

This would emulate the transfer of petrol from a refinery to distribution centres to petrol station then finally to fuel tanks on the car.

Superconductors would certainly help in reducing the transmission losses but that's all.


Typical psychobabble. The only thing missing was "global economy"...blah blah.

This sucker needs a glossary for people in the real world because he don't get it.

Glossary

Democracy: Idiocracy-->Illiteracy-->Debt Slave

Growth: Ponzi

Global Economy: Send the good stuff (fossil fuels) increasingly to China and India.

Consumer: Disenfranchised debt slave (aka broke person)

Progress: No such thing.
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby StarvingLion » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 16:17:46

show theoretical progress toward achieving higher-temperature superconductors.


Theoretical progress?

HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA....in other words, fuggetaboutit. I listen to experimentalists only, the theorists have never understood Superconductivity (which is macroscopic Quantum mechanics) despite all the phoney Nobel prizes in physics that are a big joke.

I mean The Real Number System taught in K-12 "Education" is a total fraud. The real numbers may be real mathematically but certainly are not real physically because most of them are random numbers. Its the greatest scam of all history. Its also the source why so many brain-dead phds continuously confuse mathematical representation with physical phenomena. They think the math is real physics

Speaking of frauds, that Enrico Fermi was sure a dumbass.

Fermi: "Where are the aliens?"

Answer: They are dead for the same reasons we are about to find out the hard way.

Duh!
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby Outcast_Searcher » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 16:24:59

dolanbaker wrote: This type of segmented network would be virtually immune from cascading blackouts taking out huge areas at once and bring down neighbouring networks.

This would emulate the transfer of petrol from a refinery to distribution centres to petrol station then finally to fuel tanks on the car.

Superconductors would certainly help in reducing the transmission losses but that's all.

You're right -- at least as far as the basic electricity grid, it would be ironic if superconductors are ready for prime time at just about the time long range transmission of power is no longer a major issue.

I would imagine that there are all sorts of cool things that true stable superconductors (at the right price and capacity) could do in other areas that could be a big deal though -- not being in that field, I just don't know what the applications are likely to be.
Given the track record of the perma-doomer blogs, I wouldn't bet a fast crash doomer's money on their predictions.
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby Subjectivist » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 16:51:35

Interesting, I had not heard that HS2 has been tested as a higher temperature superconductor. -94F is not that big of a hurdle to reach for practical uses. A superconducting computer would in theory run at incredibly high speed in terms of calculations per second.
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Re: Room tempurature superconductors one step closer

Unread postby dissident » Tue 21 Nov 2017, 22:17:11

Outcast_Searcher wrote:
dolanbaker wrote: This type of segmented network would be virtually immune from cascading blackouts taking out huge areas at once and bring down neighbouring networks.

This would emulate the transfer of petrol from a refinery to distribution centres to petrol station then finally to fuel tanks on the car.

Superconductors would certainly help in reducing the transmission losses but that's all.

You're right -- at least as far as the basic electricity grid, it would be ironic if superconductors are ready for prime time at just about the time long range transmission of power is no longer a major issue.

I would imagine that there are all sorts of cool things that true stable superconductors (at the right price and capacity) could do in other areas that could be a big deal though -- not being in that field, I just don't know what the applications are likely to be.


Cheap mag-lev where even existing rails could be used by upgraded "rolling" stock. Cheaper rail guns. Improved sensitivity of detectors such as MRI.
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