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World's Smallest Superconductor Discovered

Posted by samzenpus on from the none-more-small dept.

arcticstoat writes "One of the barriers to the development of nanoscale electronics has potentially been eliminated, as scientists have discovered the world's smallest superconductor. Made up of four pairs of molecules, and measuring just 0.87nm, the superconductor could potentially be used as a nanoscale interconnect in electronic devices, but without the heat and power dissipation problems associated with standard metal conductors."

19 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. What temperature does this work at though?! by An+Ominous+Cow+Erred · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This doesn't do us a lot of good in most applications if we have to cool our processors with liquid nitrogen.

    1. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by An+Ominous+Cow+Erred · · Score: 4, Informative

      (To clarify, superconductors do NOT work at room temperature -- the best ones (and the only ones we can really consider in practical applications) require cooling with something like liquid nitrogen. Moreover, this molecule is designed for size, rather than temperature, so I wonder if they had to compromise on how low you have to cool it. The lower temperature superconductors require liquid helium cooling, which goes into ridiculously cold territory.)

      The article does not seem to indicate the temperature that it works at.

    2. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by ls+-la · · Score: 4, Funny

      This doesn't do us a lot of good in most applications if we have to cool our processors with liquid nitrogen.

      Except that most slashdotters already cool their systems with liquid nitrogen, or would love the excuse to make it so.

    3. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by rnaiguy · · Score: 5, Informative

      It needs to be below ~8k (from the article abstract) . Not even liquid nitrogen is enough, need liquid helium.

    4. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by msauve · · Score: 2, Informative

      ITYM "8 K".

      SI units are capitalized when the name of the unit is derived from the name of a person.

      source

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    5. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, Mr Sexual Congress.

    6. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by corbettw · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I chill my system using a picture of my ex-wife glaring into the camera. Nothing beats that.

      --
      God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
    7. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      To clarify, superconductors do NOT YET work at room temperature

      FTFY.

    8. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by reverseengineer · · Score: 2, Informative

      The abstract of the Nature Nanotechnology article notes the superconducting transition temperature for the bulk material is around 8 Kelvin, which is definitely liquid helium range (nitrogen boils at 77K). They do go on to note, however, that at very small levels of this molecule, the superconducting gap decays exponentially with the number of linked molecules, and that 4 pairs is the minimum number where any effect at all was seen. So I don't have an exact temperature, but at least liquid helium (boils at 4K), and just as a guess, the minimal four paired molecule version might be something that might only work at the millikelvin range. Those dilution refrigerators are rather bulky items.

      --
      "FDA staff reviewers expressed concern about the number of patients who were left out of the study because they died."
    9. Re:What temperature does this work at though?! by Ramze · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Not Yet" implies that it's something that is believed to be possible... which it isn't.

      Any physicist will tell you that super-conduction depends on keeping atoms in a specific tight arrangement. At room temperature, there is too much movement of atoms and space between them even in crystalline structures to allow for superconductivity. Superconductivity is a state of matter. There are no super-conducting gasses or liquids and there will very likely never be any super-conducting solids at room temperature -- ever. The hottest temperature known for any material to super-conduct is 133 kelvin = -220.27 degrees Fahrenheit. That's not much warmer than liquid nitrogen at around 77 K.

      So, to clarify... superconductors will NEVER work at room temperature... at least according to the laws of physics as we understand them.

      FTFY... anonymous coward with pie in the sky dreams and no understanding of the topic

  2. World's smallest superconductor walks into a bar.. by calibre-not-output · · Score: 5, Funny

    The bartender says "We don't serve superconductors in this bar." The world's smallest superconductor leaves without putting up any resistance.

    --
    Nothing lasts forever but the certainty of change.
  3. Critical temperature by Takionbrst · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Doing research in a solid state physics lab, I can tell you that this article is worth nothing without the inclusion of the critical temperature Tc at which the "superconductor" starts working. Given that its some sort of ceramic, its a class II superconductor which means that it could possibly be one of the "high Tc" superconductors, a misleading title because they do still need to be cooled with LN2 (just not liquid helium, a much more expensive/difficult prospect). If their "superconductor" only works at .7 kelvin, it's not very impressive--there are lots of materials that do that. To quote (more or less) one of my lab mates "if I dunked my cat in liquid helium, it would probably begin to superconduct." In summary, the devil is in the details.

    1. Re:Critical temperature by nebaz · · Score: 4, Funny

      "if I dunked my cat in liquid helium, it would probably begin to superconduct."

      Icanhazsooperkundukter?

      (sorry)

      --
      Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
    2. Re:Critical temperature by HiggsBison · · Score: 4, Funny

      To quote (more or less) one of my lab mates "if I dunked my cat in liquid helium, it would probably begin to superconduct."

      "Probably"? So the cat might superconduct, and it might not. Sort of a Shrödinger's superconductor? Is that what you're getting at?

      --
      My other car is a 1984 Nark Avenger.
    3. Re:Critical temperature by Compuser · · Score: 5, Interesting

      First, this is not a type II. It's not a BCS superconductor at all.
      In fact, given that they do not show Meissner effect, one wonders how they conclude it is a superconductor. Heck, the paper does not even show resistance - just a density of states which is depressed at Fermi level. That could be due to anything (like a CDW). This paper seems like it is full of shit until proven otherwise. I would not pass it if I were the reviewer.

    4. Re:Critical temperature by peragrin · · Score: 2, Funny

      think of the effect if you then tied a piece of buttered toast to the back of the cat and tossed it.

      The worlds first perpetual motion motion. a super conducting frozen, cat trying to land on it's feet while toast tries to land butter side down.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
  4. superconductor placed on a silver substrate by viking80 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The superconductor is a type of organic salt placed on a silver substrate

    I wonder how they test for superconductivity when placing this tiny conductor on a substrate of massive silver, known as the best conductor there is, excluding superconductors.

    --
    don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
  5. Re:Why does supercooling lead to superconductivity by colonelquesadilla · · Score: 4, Informative

    OK forget everything your highschool chemistry teacher taught you. There are fermions, and bosons, in a horribly oversimplified sense fermions aren't allowed to be in the same place at the same time, bosons are. In certain crystals, at low temperatures, electrons pair up, in what are called cooper pairs, and become bosons instead of fermions, they then are allowed to occupy the same space at the same time. When this happens the material becomes super conductive, because the electrons are indistinguishable from one another and can pass through any point without having to change energy levels and therefore being scattered.

    --
    It's either false dichotomies, or the terrorists win, you decide.
  6. Re:World's smallest superconductor walks into a ba by Cor-cor · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's strange, the bartender usually has such a magnetic personality.