LK 99 is a compound made up of phosphorus, lead, copper, and oxygen. It has gained immense popularity recently as researchers have been conducting their research on it with emphasis. A hype was created around its name recently, bringing all eyes towards it.
LK 99 has had many researches conducted on it since 1999. Scientists have found a lot of interesting things about it that made them hopeful about its utility and uniqueness. But something happened that shattered all their dreams. All the hopes that were hung high dropped down in despair. What was that? Read on to find out.
Is LK 99 really a superconductor at room temperature?
Now, we will discuss what the hype was all about. It was not about its cost, its appearance, or anything else. The scientists had deduced that LK 99 was a superconductor at normal temperature. Crazy right? This is where billions of minds got boggled up hearing this.
More research took place in order to find the ultimate truth about it. The deeper it was dug, the more confusing it got. But ultimately, conclusions were derived regarding the same. The answers might surprise you with their originality.
LK 99 was miscalculated to be a superconductor, majorly due to impurities in the samples. (Credits: Nature)
Now the question arises: What made the scientists believe that it was a superconductor in the first place? The impurities in copper sulfide made the electric resistivity fall considerably.
Also, the magnetic properties witnessed some alteration that turned out to be similar to superconductors. It was logical for the scientists to deduce it to be a superconductor at room temperature. However, this was not the case.
This is what caused the error in the calculation of the scientists. However, the truth is now revealed, making things clearer for anyone who would read about it now. It is pretty normal for the right calculations to take time to be made.
What made the research gain momentum?
From the Quantum Energy Research Centre, Seoul, the word spread that LK 99 was a superconductor at room temperature. This grabbed the attention of all the scientists in the world on this particular topic. It became a thing of common interest for people all across the globe.
In order to find the actual truth about it, more research started getting conducted in different parts of the world. After some time and many efforts, it came out to be completely different than what was claimed in Seoul.
The scientists also said that the samples taken for the lab work were not pure enough or rather impure. These impurities were a big reason for the miscalculation made.
The CAS team’s reports clearly revealed that Copper Sulphide behaved differently with different impurities. The content of copper sulfide derived in vacuum was less, as compared to the content when derived in air.
It was not an easy decision to make, and it took many experiments and observations to jump to a concrete conclusion. However, the best part is that the efforts finally paid off, revealing the truth. Yes, LK 99 is not a superconductor at room temperature.
