Room-temperature superconductor: Scientists race to test claims about new material

When researchers claimed recently that they had created a material that perfectly conducts electricity – a superconductor – and that it does so at room temperature and pressure, many people were understandably sceptical. Such a finding would be transformative to many areas of science and technology. Now, labs around the world have kicked into action in a race to create and test the new material, called LK-99, to see if it really is what its creators claim.

Superconductors could radically increase the efficiency of many technologies, including …