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Scientists have claimed to make a breakthrough that would be “one of the holy grails of modern physics” – but experts have urged caution about the results. In recent days, many commentators have become excited by two papers that claim to document the production of a new superconductor that works at room temperature and ambient pressure. Scientists in Korea said they had synthesised a new material called LK-99 that would represent one of the biggest physics breakthroughs of recent decades. Superconductors are a special kind of material where electrical resistance vanishes, and which throw out magnetic fields. They are widely useful, including in the production of powerful magnets and in reducing the amount of energy lost as it moves through circuits. They are also often impractical, since they require low temperatures and high pressure. That means that they cannot be used in most traditional circuits, for instance. Since the beginning of the last century, scientists have been working not only to understand superconductivity but also develop new materials that would allow the phenomenon to be harvested at ambient temperatures and pressures. That has not been successful, and the discovery of such a material would mark a major breakthrough in physics. The new papers, published in recent days as a preprint on the website arXiv, claims to have overcome that problem. The researchers said they had not only found a way to synthesise such a superconducting material, but also that it could be done relatively easily – leading to huge excitement on social media. One Twitter thread from Alex Kaplan, a recent Princeton graduate who is now head of coffee product at startup Cometeer, helped propel the news into the mainstream. His thread had been viewed 8.5 million times, Twitter said, and has been retweeted more than 10,000 times. “Today might have seen the biggest physics discovery of my lifetime. I don’t think people fully grasp the implications of an ambient temperature / pressure superconductor,” he wrote in a long thread that went on to explain the possible applications of the material. Mr Kaplan pointed to the fact that vast amounts of energy are lost in the transmission of electricity across the world, that the the authors claimed material could be made in just 34 hours with simple equipment, and that such a superconductor would have revolutionary uses in everything from nuclear fusion reactors to batteries and quantum computers. Scientists away from the work agreed that such a breakthrough would be hugely significant. But they urged caution, pointing to the fact that the paper has not yet gone through the peer review process, the results have not been replicated, and that there could be other explanations for the apparently astonishing behaviour described in the work. “A real, working room-temperature superconductor which works at ambient pressure would be one of the holy grails of modern physics, unlocking major new developments in energy, transportation, healthcare, and communications,” said Mohammad Yazdani-Asrami of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering. “As it stands, however, the paper is not yet peer-reviewed and has not yet been tested in other labs to see if other researchers can reproduce its results. These are both key to determining for sure whether the world should be getting excited about the authors’ claims, which need much more scrutiny at this early stage. If the claims of findings are approved, perhaps, this is one of the most significant achievements of last few decades in physics and material engineering.” Others voiced specific concerns about the paper. Some of the results meant that other researchers working on superconductors were not convinced by the claims made in the paper. “The recent preprint by Lee, Kim and Kwon suggesting that they have observed room temperature superconductivity in the copper doped lead phosphate system, without the need for very high applied pressures, is interesting, but not yet wholly convincing,” said Susannah Speller, Professor of Materials Science at the University of Oxford, and Chris Grovenor, Professor of Materials at the University of Oxford. Professors Speller and Grovenor pointed to the fact that the data did not show the behaviour that would be expected to happen when the material became superconducting. Features that would be expected to be evident in the results were not, they said, and “and so it is too early to say that we have been presented with compelling evidence for superconductivity in these samples”. John Durrell, professor of superconductor engineering at Cambridge University, said that it could take considerable time to see the practical benefits of the breakthrough, even if the team’s results were confirmed. “There will be understandable scepticism about this result in the community as there have been numerous reports of room temperature superconductors over the years which have not held up,” he told The Independent. “I would, therefore, personally withhold judgement on this work until it becomes clear if the result is reproducible in other laboratories. “From my engineering point of view, a practical room temperature superconductor would be potentially transformative – allowing a host of exciting applications such as cheap MRI machines, more compact and efficient motors and low loss power transmission. “However, there can be significant challenges in turning a newly discovered superconducting material into a practical material. In previous cases, this has taken one or two decades and is not always possible.” Read More Europe to cover continent in fast EV chargers under new law Elon Musk takes control of @X account from user who had held it for 16 years iPhone users urged to check their photo library amid fears they could be deleted Europe to cover continent in fast EV chargers under new law Elon Musk takes control of @X account from user who had held it for 16 years iPhone users urged to check their photo library amid fears they could be deleted

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Tottenham have completed the signing of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli. Spurs had been searching for a long-term successor for captain Hugo Lloris, who is approaching the final 12 months of his deal and made clear his desire for a new challenge earlier this month. While discussions took place with Brentford number one David Raya over a potential move across London, his £40million price tag saw Tottenham turn their attention elsewhere. Vicario had long been tracked by the club as a candidate for Lloris and he has now become new boss Ange Postecoglou’s second signing. The Italian, who has been called up to various national team camps, has signed a five-year deal at Tottenham in a move reported to be worth 19million euros (£16.4m). Vicario has starred for Empoli during the last two seasons, saving eight penalties in that period to develop a reputation as one of the most promising goalkeepers in Europe. The 26-year-old started out at Udinese before featuring in the Italian lower-leagues with Venezia, who he helped rise through the divisions up to Serie B. A move to Cagliari followed in 2019 but with chances hard to come by, it took a loan at Perugia and faith from Empoli to earn Vicario an opportunity in Italy’s top flight. During two campaigns at Empoli, the first on loan, Vicario shone to earn widespread praise in his homeland, including from goalkeeping great Gianluigi Buffon. Vicario will now attempt to establish himself in the Premier League and follow in the footsteps of Carlo Cudicini, another Italian stopper who represented Chelsea and Tottenham. The arrival of Vicario now switches Spurs’ focus to the future of Lloris, who could be allowed to leave this summer on a free transfer following 11 years in north London. Fraser Forster deputised last season when Lloris was injured and is contracted to the club until June 2024. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Jude Bellingham and Levi Colwill will play no part in England’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, becoming the latest pair to withdraw from Gareth Southgate’s squad. Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham and Chelsea defender Colwill were both ruled out of action over the weekend due to shoulder injuries and have returned to their clubs for further assessment. It comes after James Maddison, Callum Wilson and Lewis Dunk withdrew from England duty due to injuries on Monday, with the trio replaced by Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and Ezri Konsa. This time Southgate has not called up any new faces, leaving the England manager with a 23-player squad for the matches against Malta at Wembley on Friday and the trip to North Macedonia on Monday. In a further update, both Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips will meet up with the England squad later this week. An England statement said this was due to “personal matters”. England are already assured of their place at next summer’s Euro 2024 finals in Germany after last month’s win over Italy secured qualification. However Southgate will be targeting victories in both games to make sure England are one of the top seeds when the Euro 2024 is made in Germany next month. Updated England squad for Malta and North Macedonia fixtures Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal) Defenders: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Fikayi Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Rico Lewis (Manchester City) Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 18, 2023--