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Canadian Scientists Bind High-Temp Superconductor Components With Scotch Tape

Posted by timothy on from the move-over-duct-tape dept.

First time accepted submitter halightw writes "Scotch tape really can fix anything according to a new study where it was used to induce super conductivity by taping two pieces of material together. A "proximity effect" occurs when a superconducting material is able to induce superconducting behavior in a second material — a semiconductor that does not typically enjoy superconductivity." All that and X-rays, too. Related: An anonymous reader writes "Scientist at University of Leipzig in Germany claim to have measured room-temperature superconducting in specially treated graphite grains. The measurements were reproduced independently before the announcement was made. More tests need to be done to verify the extent of superconductivity and whether the effect can be extended and scaled to be practical."

4 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Irrelevant headline by Sarten-X · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So the really interesting part of this story - that superconductivity can be induced in high-temperature materials that haven't been grown in proximity - is completely overshadowed by the tape that held the experiment together?

    Fuck journalism.

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    You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    1. Re:Irrelevant headline by Sarten-X · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That is what I meant. That sentence was mangled several times while revising, and apparently I posted a few revisions too early.

      Technology-wise, this is an interesting discovery. It would have been equally interesting had the scientist used fly paper or chewing gum to hold the semiconductors together. Once upon a time, this site claimed to offer "news for nerds"... let's not water down the nerdy science with the lowest-common-denominator amazement that versatile materials have many uses.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    2. Re:Irrelevant headline by History's+Coming+To · · Score: 4, Insightful

      HUH?! DO YOU WANT THE SOURCE CODE TO THE UNIVERSE NOW?!

      As a physicist by training, yes, that's exactly what I want.

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      Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
  2. 2nd Summary by Bigby · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is it just me or is the 2nd summary deserving of its own post? A room temperature superconductor, if found and practical/abundant, would be one of the greatest discoveries in science.