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June 2024 ESRFnews

HIGH-PRESSURE SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

T

HERE is no subject in materials science that

has generated quite so much recent excitement

and controversy as hightemperature

superconductivity In the last few years the field has

been set alight with results for a series of highpressure

materials that superconduct closer and closer to room

temperature the longstanding goal At the same time

there have been false starts confusion and in the case of

one highprofile scientist alleged fraud

Superconductivity is a hot topic for a good reason

Get it to work successfully in ambient conditions and

it could well be a technological panacea a route to

lossless electricity distribution and a major weapon

against climate change Yet the direction of much of

the latest research has been almost guaranteed to end

in turmoil Highpressure synthesis often produces

complex mixedphase samples so that it is not always

clear what is actually being studied It also requires

specialist experimental knowledge meaning there is

less scope for results to be reproduced independently

Research into high-pressure superconductivity has amazing

potential, but is mired by ambiguous results. T he ESRF can

help bring clarity to the f ield

Super clear?

At ID15B from left

Michael Hanfland

the former

scientist in charge

former post

doctoral fellow

Davide Combini

and Gaston

Garbarino the

current scientist

in charge

E S R F/ S T E F C A N D É