But there is no progress in superconductors: “Nature” withdraws the study
The popular specialist magazine once again retracts a sensational study conducted by controversial physicist Ranga Dias. What does this mean for the hope of a miracle substance?
The goal is to achieve something like this at room temperature: a toy locomotive frozen in liquid nitrogen floating above a magnetic barrier.
Photography: Stephen Schmidt (Keystone)
In March, a research team led by physicist Ranga Dias of the University of Rochester claimed in the journal Nature that they had found a room-temperature superconductor. Although enormous pressure would be necessary, the material can conduct electricity without loss to ambient temperature and without any resistance; Great hack if confirmed. He has it now “Nature” withdrew the controversial publication.
It is noteworthy that the retraction was obtained by eight of the paper’s 11 authors, including Ashkan Salamat of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who is one of the lead authors along with Dias. Scientists believe that there are “issues” that “undermine the integrity of the published work,” she said In associated communications: The publication “does not accurately reflect” information regarding the origin of the materials examined, measurement preparation, and data processing. The remaining three authors, including Ranga Dias, have yet to comment on the allegations to the magazine.
Already in September last year “Nature” withdraws a print for Dias and Salamat. This was also canceled in August due to doubts about the measurement data Specialized magazine “Physical Review Letters” A post shared by Dias. The physicist has already been accused of plagiarism and data manipulation on several occasions. Experts also expressed significant early doubts about the work published in March; Because of its supposedly amazing results, it has received worldwide attention. Report withdrawal now “Nature News”Independent news section of the specialized magazine. According to Nature, the University of Rochester has confirmed that outside experts are now investigating whether Dias’ work has integrity.
The second drawn work in “Nature”
The fact that Nature had to pull the slideshow for a second time raises questions among experts. When colleagues reviewed the publication, many questions emerged, but they were clarified, said Karl Zemelis, Nature’s physicist, in a Nature News report. “What the peer review process cannot determine is whether the paper, as written, accurately reflects the research as it was conducted.”
In order for a superconductor to conduct electricity without resistance, it must currently be cooled to temperatures below minus 140 degrees Celsius. The temperature can be increased to 23 degrees below zero when the material is compressed together with enormous pressure. In the now-retracted publication, Dias and his colleagues reported that the compound of the rare earth metal lutetium, nitrogen and hydrogen was superconducting at room temperature and “only” ten kilobars of pressure. This is still ten times the pressure found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, but it is only a fraction of the pressure normally required, and would have been much closer to everyday applications.
The withdrawal is the second disappointment in the superconductivity field this year. In July, two groups from South Korea and the USA reported on a room-temperature superconductor that can operate without particularly high pressure. The article appears as a preprint and has therefore not been peer-reviewed. Other laboratories soon recreated the supposed miracle substance called LK-99, but the claims of its inventors have not been confirmed.
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