The fun part about this is how easy things are to grasp even though I have zero background in the science.

It certainly doesn't hurt that this thing levitates.

No need to squint into a microscope, parse a screen full of numbers, or try to make sense of false-color renderings. Either you have video proof of a levitating object, or you don't. The demonstration is as intuitive as it gets, despite the fact that the theory is crazy difficult to wrap one's head around.

And the techniques to produce the material are not too crazy, all within reach of sufficiently dedicated amateurs

Levitates? Against, what, the earth's inherent magnetic field? Sorry, I haven't seen any visuals that show this behavior.

Over a handheld neodymium magnet.

None of the videos have yet shown complete 'levitation', they all have a corner on the surface. But still, not behavior that anyone has ever seen from lead before.

But couldn't it just be a magnet ? I don't understand how it's a proof. You can already do what is in the video (and even better), with for example, pyrolitic carbon ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolytic_carbon

It’s not proof, but if it wasn’t even diamagnetic it would be over. It couldn't just be a magnet, it is repelled from both ends of a normal magnet, according to Chinese lab videos you can find in the thread.

Lead weighs a lot more than pyrolytic carbon.

Have you seen videos of pyrolytic carbon? A thin sliver of it barely hovers on top of a huge magnet. It doesn’t stand erect. Same effect as LK99 but much smaller magnitude.

No, digmagnetic of levitation requires multiple magnets in a halbac array: https://www.kjmagnetics.com/blog.asp?p=diamagnetic-levitatio...

https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apm/article/9/10/101107/1061600/Pho...

Levitation in magnetic itself is not the proof. Frogs can do that too, ask Geim. The proof would be levitation in any orientation.

> Frogs can do that too

One even did that on the cover of Nature, iirc.

When do we start building things out of superconducting frogs?

Using a 'slightly' stronger magnetic field...

Only over an electromagnet, not a fixed one (to our knowledge). Digmagnetic levitation requires more than one magnet or an electromagnet.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_levitation

It almost feels like we're back in the days of Lavoisier. Scientists staging elaborate public experiments, blowing things up to support or debunk a popular theory. Deadly rivalries, publicity stunts, each new development a matter of personal, institutional, and national hubris.

Personally I can't wait to be able to go to the Royal Institution in London to see someone demonstrate this thing.

Just like they demonstrated all the stuff you know from school over a hundred years ago, before you needed fancy equipment to do anything.

It reminds me of the days of cold fusion. Or the days of buckminsterfullerene.

Basically, something which is very unexpected, with potentially large consequences, and which can be done in many labs using discretionary funding.

Yes, this is absolutely thrilling. I can’t help looking for the latest development everyday.

Every day? I’m checking like every half hour

Best places to check if I’m casually interested?

I've been using this forum post: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/claims-of-room-tempe...

But I'd also appreciate other links

I found another place that's maintaining replication results too: https://eirifu.wordpress.com/2023/07/30/lk-99-superconductor...

It's interesting they marked one of the claims as "likely fraudulent" but the guy at the spacebattles one hasn't. The video doesn't seem to be related at all to the 4 samples one, so I'm not sure why they think it's likely fraudulent.

I saw a video the other day that pointed out that the breakdown current for their sample was 260 mA. Now there's a lot of things you can do with 260mA, but I don't believe high-tesla electromagnets are in that list, so no MRIs, no fusion, and probably no electromotive devices (generators, motors).

But now we know its possible, maybe they can figure out the structures that make it work and develop better materials?

Personally hopeful it inspires a “gold rush” of funding materials research to get LK99 to a supremely useful spot

I'm hoping for something that isn't made entirely out of a superfund site material, personally.

Unless I misunderstand what you mean / what the stuff is made of, this seems like a huge exaggeration... lead isn't friendly, sure, but it isn't that dangerous? There are worse materials that are in common use. (And we use lead in plenty of places already)

It took 80 years to go from a crude prototype at Bell Labs to Apple announcing the M1. We just need to know it’s possible. The rest will follow.

The M1 is just as significant as an ESP32 or Celeron in the scheme of things.

Isn’t the introduction of the 4004 in 1971 a better comparison? while that was still 24 years since the Bell labs discovery, we have much better scientific, manufacturing, logistical and mining ecosystems within industry and research today.

If there’s a compelling reason to do so, governments will find ways to accelerate the development of those ecosystems from decades to years (probably more like a decade).

I don't get it, is the M1 supposed to be some pinnacle achievement in the history of the integrated circuit lmao

The effective cross-sectional area of the original sample could well be minuscule. (I assume that, if a room temperature superconductor has been found, it constitutes a tiny fraction of the sample.)

The current is related to the cross-sectional area of the (super)conductor. Not sure how big their sample was, but the solution is thicker and more cables.

I don't know much about superconductivity, but if 0.25A is the limit no matter the cross-section of conductor, you can multiply/parallelize the conductors - i.e. series of "microconductors", each carrying 0.25A, which would add up to whatever you want?

I assure you if 260mA room temperature and pressure superconducting wire can be consistently produced we’ll be living in the future.

> we’ll be living in the future

This is a tautological statement if I ever saw one!

Let me explain what I meant: the transistor changed everything and we’re still reaping unexpected benefits, see LLMs this year. My bet is such a superconductor would be the same - 50 years from its creation we’d still be finding new ways of putting it to use.

> This is exciting, but I try to maintain my composure.

One wit on a different social media site opined that "all technological advances such as plumbing and petrol result in lead poisoning, so perhaps this is real".

He forgot about the 3rd P, perovskites (cheaper & more efficient solar cells)