The team placed a pure sample of lutetium in a reaction chamber with a gas mixture of 99% hydrogen and 1% nitrogen. (Image Credit: University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)
Scientists at the University of Rochester created a new superconducting material called reddmatter that seamlessly distributes energy and works at low pressure and temperature, sufficient for practical, everyday applications. For example, this breakthrough could unlock high-speed magnetically hovering trains, lead to new medical equipment, contribute to nuclear fusion, and allow power grids to transmit power without resistance.
Previously, professor Ranga Dias and his team published papers in Nature and Physical Review Letters, unveiling two similarly created superconducting materials, carbonaceous sulfur hydride and yttrium superhydride. However, the journal's editors retracted the Nature paper as the scientists faced criticism and skepticism over their discovery. In their latest breakthrough, the team took additional steps to avoid criticism. They collected new data outside a lab to verify the initial paper, and a team of scientists watched as the process unfolded.
Ranga Dias fine-tunes a laser array in Dias's advanced spectroscopy lab in Hopeman Hall. (Image Credit: University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)
Reddmatter got its name from its color and as a tribute to a material from Star Trek. The material transitioned to a very bright red color during production, leading to its name. "It was a very bright red," Dias said. "I was shocked to see colors of this intensity. We humorously suggested a code name for the material at this state—'reddmatter'—after a material that Spock created in the popular 2009 Star Trek movie."
The team created this material by placing lutetium, a rare earth metal, and a gas mixture of 99% hydrogen and 1% nitrogen in a reaction chamber. These components then reacted at 392°F for two to three days. Dias chose nitrogen because it "has a rigid atomic structure that can be used to create a more stable, cage-like lattice within a material, and it hardens the low-frequency optical phonons." As a result, it can achieve superconductivity at lower PSI.
At first, the compound had a rich blue color. Then, it turned pink while being pressed in a diamond anvil cell at extremely high pressure, which caused it to become superconductive. After reverting to its non-superconductive metallic state, the material turned into a rich red color.
Reddmatter must be heated to 20.5°C and compressed to 145,000 PSI to function. This level is significantly less intense compared to similar materials like the one Dias announced in 2020. The scientists behind this work say it starts a new era for practical applications of superconducting materials.
"A pathway to superconducting consumer electronics, energy transfer lines, transportation, and significant improvements of magnetic confinement for fusion are now a reality," Dias said. "We believe we are now at the modern superconducting era." Dias believes the nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride could activate progress in developing tokamak machines to achieve nuclear fusion.
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