Photo of Harsh Mathur
Harsh Mathur

Physics’ Harsh Mathur weighs in on news about superconductor functioning at room temperature

How new superconductors could make your gadgets better

LifewireHarsh Mathur, professor of physics, weighed in on the news that scientists have developed the first superconductor able to function at room temperature. “It is difficult to forecast how long it will take for the final breakthrough to occur,” he said. Mathur also pointed out that the materials that superconduct at high temperatures do so at high pressure. “So it will also be necessary to find a material that superconducts at close to normal ambient pressure. So that is the bad news. On the other hand, the good news is that advances in superconductivity research are already impacting technology even before room-temperature superconductivity is attained.”