Europium's Superconductivity Demonstrated 103
gabrlknght writes "An old element just learned a new trick under pressure. When cooled and squeezed very hard, the soft metallic element europium turns into a superconductor, allowing electrons to flow unfettered by resistance, a study appearing May 13 in Physical Review Letters shows. The results make europium the 53rd of the 92 naturally occurring elements to possess superconductivity, which, if harnessed, could make for more efficient energy transfer."
Re:happened with other SCs as well (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Fuzzy math... (Score:2, Insightful)
"When cooled and squeezed very hard, the soft metallic element europium turns into a superconductor ... which, if harnessed, could make for more efficient energy transfer."
After factoring in the cost of compressing and cooling a big long cable... In other words, not any time soon.
Superconductivity can be harnessed for efficient energy transfer. It's a boilerplate that is attached to any research associated with superconductivity to remind the general public whe they're spending millions of dollars on things which aren't available as direct dividends to their lives.
Re:First post (Score:4, Insightful)
There are new, mediocre discoveries every day but they're never heard about except in some dusty journal.
Re:Fuzzy math... (Score:3, Insightful)
One could've said similar things about semiconductors.
Re:It isn't better (Score:5, Insightful)
"Superconductivity is an area where it's very difficult theoretically to have the last word, to really know what's possible and what's not.... Anything one can do to further the understanding of superconductivity might eventually help one design a better superconductor."
In essence we don't know what superconductors can do, but if we try different stuff eventually we will find something useful. That's why it's worth doing.
Make me a cable! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Fuzzy math... (Score:2, Insightful)
i.e. materials with the property not to conduct *any* electrons, EM radiation or heat in any form.
I think the law of thermodynamics might have a thing or two to say on the subject of that idea.
Re:First post -- dead wrong (Score:1, Insightful)
Sorry, but I bet a lot of other scientists, perhaps a few on this board, are getting sick of science hype, and discoveries that "if" we can really do this, and then "if" we can also do that (no clue how to do that) and a few other ifs, we can change the world in only 5 more years.
Every minor discovery, or in a lot of cases, rediscovery by those who didn't do their homework is endlessly touted as the great new thing, especially in nanotech, but in other fields as well. A recent example is the "discovery" or first "plasma transistor". Too bad for MIT that this was tried and in use by Phillips in the early 50's if not before as a possible low voltage tube for car radios.
Marketing has become more important to an overspecialized science than the science.
The only reason to read the hyped blogs is to find things people have "discovered" but due to overspecialization, don't know what they have.
But they know what they want! More money and time until tenure kicks in, work on the fun stuff with a cute secretary and so on. How many times in a row has fusion been only a couple decades away, and just this one more doubling of money?
I still want my flying car, and fusion and so on.
Looks like the best way is to get rich and fund these on your own, you might get results if you fired the losers.