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A Staggering 19x Energy Jump in Capacitors May Be the Beginning of the End for Batteries
(www.popularmechanics.com)
this post was submitted on 10 May 2024
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Technology
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I thought that one was a no go? Did I miss more news?
I think they mean hypothetically.
There was one team fairly recently that thought they had developed one that got a lot of press, but it turned out to not be true.
But that was only for that one specific case, it didn't prove that room temperature superconductors can't exist in general, there are still other teams working on developing them, and theoretically they could be possible, we just haven't quite worked out what materials will exhibit superconductivity at room temperature, under what circumstances, and how to make them.
And we have some materials that come pretty damn close, Lanthanum decahydride can exhibit superconductivity at temperatures just a few degrees colder than some home freezers can manage (although at very high pressures)
As in, one probably exists but has not been discovered yet. Every year scientists get them running closer and closer to room temperature
You are right, however, it's worth noting most of these materials are highly complex and contain exotic elements. Basically these compounds are not suitable for any real life application in long range energy transfer
Even just getting above the boiling temp of liquid nitrogen is a really big deal. Liquid helium is something we will eventually run out of and is largely dependent on fossil fuel extraction to be collected. Helium can't be recaptured after it escapes an open loop cooling system.
LN2 is so much cheaper to run and it's sustainable. We'll never run out of Nitrogen so long as there's power to cool it. LN2 is cheaper than craft beer.
I wonder if progress will be slow and steady until we finally get there or if it will be a huge jump past the finish line like there was in the 80s. Either way, I don't expect to see practical applications outside of the lab in my lifetime...but it's really fun to watch the science advanced, even if it is all over my head