cynar, 1 year ago

The steps actually mattered.

The first superconductors were weird, and required EXTREME conditions to function (generally liquid helium). These allowed for the first MRI machines, and some other tech.

“Type 2” superconductors changed the game. They function at far higher temperatures. This means that liquid nitrogen is enough to keep them functional. These allowed for the large scale roll out of smaller, cheaper MRI machines. You no longer needed a small factory to keep them from self destructing.

The holy grail was room temperature superconductors. These wouldn’t need special conditions to function. Unfortunately, they didn’t account for pressure. It turns out that superconductors can be made roon temperature, if the pressure is EXTREME. While this is very interesting from a science perspective, it’s completely useless to technology improvement.

Hense the newer category, room temperature and pressure. It’s what the holy grail should have been, but no one accounted for the pedants.

If this material performs as claimed, it’s a big deal. A lot of sci-fi like tech suddenly becomes viable. Much of it centered around power generation, storage, and distribution.