December 30, 2020 at 8:00 am
From the biggest merger of black holes to the world’s oldest string fashioned by Neandertals, no less discoveries in 2020 set new records that amazed and inspired.
Highest-temperature superconductor
After more than a century’s wait, scientists have found the first superconductor that works near room temperature. Superconducting up to about 15° Celsius (59° Fahrenheit), it’s made by squeezing carbon, hydrogen and sulfur between two diamonds and zapping the compound with a laser (
SN: 10/14/20). The new material allows current to flow without any energy loss, but only at high pressures, which means practical applications are still a distant vision.