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Following failed verification attempts by academics, skepticism is brewing regarding the claim made by Korean scientists that they successfully synthesized a room-temperature superconductor.

In an online article published on Friday, the international academic journal Nature wrote, “A Korean team’s claim to have discovered a superconductor that works in room temperature and ambient pressure has become a viral sensation, [. . .] but initial efforts to experimentally and theoretically reproduce the buzzworthy result have come up short, and researchers remain deeply skeptical.”

Earlier, on July 22, a team of Korean scientists composed of Lee Suk-bae, president of Quantum Energy Research Centre, as well as Hanyang University professor emeritus Auh Keun-ho and William & Mary College research professor Kim Hyun-tak, posted two research papers claiming they “succeeded in synthesizing the room-temperature superconductor” for the first time in the world on Arxiv, an online archive for papers that have not gone through the peer-review process. The team shared that the superconductor, which they named LK-99, displayed superconductivity in room temperatures up to 127 degrees Celsius and in atmospheric pressure.

Once they start conducting electricity, superconductors can continue to do so without electric resistance forever; additionally, they repel magnetic fields, a phenomenon known as the Meissner effect. Although considered a “holy grail” of physics capable of bringing about a sea change in the energy industry as well as industries associated with magnetic levitation trains, superconductors developed so far have only displayed superconductivity in extremely low temperatures or under immense pressure, limiting their commercial application.

Nature also stated, “None of the studies [by other researchers trying to reproduce LK-99] provide direct evidence for any superconductivity in the material,” adding, “The Korean team did not respond to Nature’s request for comment.”

According to Nature, teams at the National Physical Laboratory of India in New Delhi and Beihang University in Beijing reported synthesizing LK-99, but they were not able to observe signs of superconductivity in the material. Researchers at Southeast University in Nanjing also reportedly reproduced LK-99, which demonstrated near zero electric resistance. But this was observed not at room temperature but at 163 degrees Celsius below zero. Nature explained that the material these teams synthesized may not be identical to the LK-99 synthesized by the Korean team, pointing to the limitations of experimental verification.

Nature judged that theoretical verification attempts have yet to result in positive outcomes as well. Presenting the results of four theoretical analyses completed all around the world, including by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the US, Nature revealed that “none of the studies found evidence that LK-99 is a superconductor at ambient conditions.”

While skepticism is growing, a direct analysis of LK-99 through academic collaboration — the fastest way to definitively verify the alleged room-temperature superconductor — has not been carried out yet, as a sample of the material has yet to be obtained. On Wednesday, the Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics revealed it would launch a verification committee and obtain and analyze a sample of LK-99. However, the Korean scientists who synthesized LK-99 shared that they would provide samples of the substance after their research papers have been reviewed by an academic journal, delaying the analysis.

By Kim Jeong-su, senior staff writer

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