News Physics

When the pressure’s off, this superconductor appears to break records

If confirmed, it’s the highest-temperature superconductor at atmospheric pressure

A small, cylindrical object is illuminated beneath a microscope

A diamond anvil cell (shown) is used to increase the pressure, and then rapidly release it, on a new record-breaking superconductor.

Anthony Gollab/University of Houston

By Emily Conover

Nothing says “the ’90s are back” like a challenge to a high-temperature superconductor record set in 1993.

By squeezing a material to high pressure and then rapidly releasing it, scientists reduced the amount of cooling it needs to become a superconductor.