Breaking News Room Temperature Superconductor LK-99

[Abhorsen]

Scientists in Korea may have synthesized a new room temperature superconductor. This could be huge.

LK-99 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It seems to have been replicated successfully (or at least partially):

 

[Rocinante]

Scientists in Korea may have synthesized a new room temperature superconductor. This could be huge.

LK-99 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It seems to have been replicated successfully (or at least partially):

Waiting for these guys to have a tagic accident. Or they patent and sell the technology, and it is promptly put on a shelf never to be touched again.

One thing Steven Greer is probably right about, is how those in charge will do everything possible to prevent alternative energy sources, such as this.

This all plays into rhe UFO/UAP thing.

Tech similar to this was probably discovered 100 years ago, and many times since, according to Greer. They just kill the creators or buy and shelf it.

His idea to combat that is to open source the data as quickly as possible so it can't be hidden. I hope they're smart enough to do that rather than chase profit.

Greet might be 50% full of shit, but this is extremely believable, considering the world's power structures are based on fossil fuels. This is a huge threat to those in power.

 

[Terthna]

They just kill the creators or buy and shelf it.

More often it's the latter than the former; because most people are willing to sell if they're desperate enough for the money, and there are many ways to ensure that they're that desperate.

 

[ThatZenoGuy]

;(((( Those poor Korean scientists, suicided so young via 3 bullets to the back of the head, an overdose on fentanyl while throwing a toaster into their bathtub in an abandoned motel...
At least the patent will be safe in a Rothchilds patent troll collection.

 

[Rocinante]

More often it's the latter than the former; because most people are willing to sell if they're desperate enough for the money, and there are many ways to ensure that they're that desperate.

It's not that they're "desperate" for money. They're doing it for money. There's nothing wrong with that, either.

We're a capitalist society. This isn't a problem, it's a good thing. The problem here, specifically, is that the people who buy it, have no intentions of releasing it to the public. So the public gets screwed, and it's probably their tax dollars buying it. That's not capitalism, that's exploitation of our tax dollars rather than free markets at play.

Though like i said, selling their tech isn't a loss to them. As far as the creators are concerned, they succeeded. They invented a new technology, sold it, and now they're rich. Boom. Success.

What Greer wants to do is get this technology out to the public and open sourced, so it can't be hidden. The problem is that the people who invent the tech want to hold on to the tech so they can make money off of it.

That makes sense, too. You dedicate your life to science and creating inventions as a path to wealth, you make a big breakthrough, and yeah of course you want to profit. You can see those dollar signs.

The problem is that for the overall benefit of society, it does us no good when these things get bought up and shelved.

I hope Greer succeeds at some of his goals.

 

[Megadeath]

Ignoring that most posts read like textbook paranoid delusion, they're also out of touch with the specifics of the situation. I mean, the process is enough out there that probably literally hundreds of labs are trying to recreate and validate this. It's also a pretty easy to reproduce product. If it's true, then the cat is well and truly out of the bag. If it's an inaccurate claim, well we'll know soon enough.

 

[Abhorsen]

Yeah, this isn't going the way of buy out the invention to do nothing with it. It's either a curiosity (if it's only diamagnetic) or it's revolutionary on the scale of the transistor if it's a superconductor. I doubt it'll be bough if it's just diamagnetic, but no one could afford to buy it and not exploit it if it's a superconductor.

 

[Rocinante]

Yeah, this isn't going the way of buy out the invention to do nothing with it. It's either a curiosity (if it's only diamagnetic) or it's revolutionary on the scale of the transistor if it's a superconductor. I doubt it'll be bough if it's just diamagnetic, but no one could afford to buy it and not exploit it if it's a superconductor.

I mean, governments and politicians power rely on the current status quo in the energy industry. Something like this has potential to tear that entire structure down.

They very much don't want this.

They'll at the very least try very hard to discredit this news, if it turns out to be real.

If they can, they'll get their hands on it and shelf it.

They don't eat threats to their power out there.

 

[LordsFire]

I mean, governments and politicians power rely on the current status quo in the energy industry. Something like this has potential to tear that entire structure down.

They very much don't want this.

They'll at the very least try very hard to discredit this news, if it turns out to be real.

If they can, they'll get their hands on it and shelf it.

They don't eat threats to their power out there.

It was published to the general internet.

If established powers try to sit on it, then lesser powers that are outside of their direct influence will start manufacturing it, and gain massively for it.

There's no putting this cat in the bag, and frankly thinking that there will be a major effort to do so, instead of a rush to profit massively from this, is paranoid.

I'm sure there are some politicians and influence brokers who'd like to, but it just isn't feasible.

 

[Abhorsen]

I mean, governments and politicians power rely on the current status quo in the energy industry. Something like this has potential to tear that entire structure down.

They very much don't want this.

They'll at the very least try very hard to discredit this news, if it turns out to be real.

If they can, they'll get their hands on it and shelf it.

They don't eat threats to their power out there.

I doubt it. Companies have repeatedly blown up the status quo despite politicians, in order to make money. Ubers destruction of Taxi medallions is one of the bigger antigovernment wins.

Also, this has very little to do with the energy infrastructure, I don't think? I'm pretty sure it's more a computing improvement.

 

[Rocinante]

I doubt it. Companies have repeatedly blown up the status quo despite politicians, in order to make money. Ubers destruction of Taxi medallions is one of the bigger antigovernment wins.

Also, this has very little to do with the energy infrastructure, I don't think? I'm pretty sure it's more a computing improvement.

Okay. So it appears due to Early morning posting, I was not thinking straight. I thought this was an energy production system. If that was the case I would stand by my previous posts.

Seeing as I misunderstood what this actually is, I am retracting my previous claims. I don't think this will be bought and shelved. I hope it's true, and it could be really cool.

I was thinking of things that might compete with the energy industry. Not computer parts.

Generator and Conductor became synonyms in my morning brain lol

 

[LordsFire]

Room temperature superconductors have a lot of applications:

1. The part of a generator that actually induces current can be improved. Not the heat source turning it, IE coal, natgas, nuclear, etc.

2. Power transmission. We lose large percentages of generated energy sending it down power lines; superconductors lose functionally nothing.

3. Energy storage potential. I'm not as familiar with the mechanics of this, but it may be the leap in battery technology a lot of things are gated behind.

4. Heat efficiency in computer parts. One of the current limitations in computers is that resistance generates waste heat, and the build-up can damage components if not properly sunk. Superconductors functionally solve this problem.

5. Enormous numbers of systems just becoming more efficient in how much energy they use, because of less loss to resistance.


Depending on how easily/cheaply they can be manufactured, then adapted to various roles, this could be as revolutionary of a technology as the transistor.

 

[Abhorsen]

2. Power transmission. We lose large percentages of generated energy sending it down power lines; superconductors lose functionally nothing.

I'm not sure that this will work with the superconductor in question, because I don't know that it is ductile. From what little I've seen, it doesn't appear to be. So it could work, but I doubt it would be better than what we have, as it would lose a lot of benefits.

But the rest seems right to me.

 

[Megadeath]

I'm not sure that this will work with the superconductor in question, because I don't know that it is ductile. From what little I've seen, it doesn't appear to be. So it could work, but I doubt it would be better than what we have, as it would lose a lot of benefits.

But the rest seems right to me.

The gains would be significant enough to make developing entirely new infrastructure that can accommodate the material properties worthwhile. Obviously not an overnight kinda change, but starting with the longest distances until we end up with RTSC to the curb would almost certainly happen.

 

[Abhorsen]

The gains would be significant enough to make developing entirely new infrastructure that can accommodate the material properties worthwhile. Obviously not an overnight kinda change, but starting with the longest distances until we end up with RTSC to the curb would almost certainly happen.

Eh, I doubt it would be worth it. About ~10% is lost in transmission, and power isn't super expensive. Meanwhile, the amount of capital that would need to be invested in such a radical change would be immense.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

Eh, I doubt it would be worth it. About ~10% is lost in transmission, and power isn't super expensive. Meanwhile, the amount of capital that would need to be invested in such a radical change would be immense.

Sure, however, I see the real use for something like this in the replacement of aging transmission lines. As things degrade and need/should be replaced you used the higher-grade materials like this, if they prove suitable.
EDIT: with 2 caveats
1 - that the material is readily available for this purpose and won't prevent more critical assets from using it
2 - that the cost is not a drastic increase so that you lose any benefit you might gain from a 5-10% increase in transmission efficiency

 

[Abhorsen]

Sure, however, I see the real use for something like this in the replacement of aging transmission lines. As things degrade and need/should be replaced you used the higher-grade materials like this, if they prove suitable.
EDIT: with 2 caveats
1 - that the material is readily available for this purpose and won't prevent more critical assets from using it
2 - that the cost is not a drastic increase so that you lose any benefit you might gain from a 5-10% increase in transmission efficiency

I'm expecting a drastic cost increase for wires specifically. We like the metal in powerlines for more than just its conductivity. It's ductility makes wires easy to create, and the wires are flexible, allowing it to sway in the wind and increase durability.

From what I can see about the superconductor, it seems more like a crystalline substance. This would be horrible for wires, but good for things like chips, etc, which don't have to flex.

Here's a new summary of current papers/research on this. Note that the science here is actually evolving (looking at you Fauci), so none of this is certain til there's experimental verification.

 

[Doomsought]

While superconductors do not have resistance, that is only while below a certain amperage, which with many of the high temperature superconductors (those that need nitrogen rather than helium cooling) have not been used as much as you would expect. They also have a tendency to be extremely brittle or have other mechanical properties that make them next to impossible to use.

 

[The Whispering Monk]

The physical strengths/weaknesses of this, if it's THE THING, will be key to it's usage.

 

[Doomsought]

The most important question with superconductors, after "at what temperature?" is "But can it bend?"