Last summer, the internet fell in love with LK-99, a synthetic material developed by scientists that promised to be a room-temperature superconductor.
But sadly, the hopes of physics fans and random people who suddenly learned a lot about materials science were dashed when LK-99 proved to not be a superconductor. It was "so over."
Yesterday however, a Chinese lab produced a pre-print version of a research paper that, in essence, says, "we're so back."
There is, once again, a considerable amount of buzz going around the internet about a possible superconductor, alongside worries and memes of a repeat of last time.
A room-temperature superconductor is known among many as the holy grail of materials sciences. A superconductor is a substance that can transmit electricity without losing any along the way.
The superconductors that science has discovered up until now all have to be extremely cold to work, meaning it is difficult to use them in everyday contexts. If there were a superconductor that worked at room temperature, it would revolutionize the way energy, computers and really anything involving electricity work.
Understandably, the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor would be really exciting. But LK-99 wasn't it, as proven in August after weeks of frenzied social media (and scientific) investigation.
This new substance shares some similarities with LK-99, working around the same molecular structure. So far, however, nothing is proven, as the study is promising but preliminary.
The measurements of the material's behavior under an electric current are inconclusive. Other labs and other scientists must synthesize the new material and test it out to make sure it's a superconductor.
A lack of clear and confirmed facts, however, did not stop people on the internet from expressing their opinions. For those who believe, it could all be real this time around.
