Claimed “Superconductivity when mixed with lutetium hydride at 21 degrees”
Immediately after the paper was published, criticism was raised… Nature: “There is considerable concern”
Nature, one of the world’s top three scientific journals, withdrew a paper by an American research team claiming to have discovered a room-temperature superconducting material.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 7th (local time), Nature announced that after its own internal investigation, it had withdrawn a paper on the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor published by Langa Dias, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and physics at the University of Rochester in New York, and his research team.
Nature explained, “The concerns (of the scientific community about this paper) are credible, significant, and have not yet been resolved.” It was not disclosed whether Dias and the other two authors agreed to withdraw the paper.
Superconductivity is the ability of some materials to pass electric current without loss of energy, and is only found at unrealistically low temperatures. It requires very high pressure and is difficult to observe at room temperature.
In a paper titled ‘Evidence of ambient superconductivity of nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride’, the Dias research team claimed that superconducting behavior was observed at about 21 degrees Celsius when the rare earth metal lutetium was mixed with hydrogen and nitrogen.
The research team said that this substance changes from bright blue to red when pressured, and named it after the substance ‘reddmatter’ that appears in the science fiction movie ‘Star Trek’.
The discovery, if true, was expected to be a ‘revolution’ by improving the efficiency of energy grids, battery technology, computer processors and other electrical systems.
However, scientists raised doubts immediately after the paper was published. Physicist Dirk van der Marel, professor emeritus at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, cited Dias’s previous superconductivity research, which Nature had previously withdrawn, and raised, “Similar problems may be lurking.”
A formal complaint was filed with Nature a few weeks later, and physicists Brad Ramshaw of Cornell University and James Hamlin of the University of Florida submitted a critique to Nature in April stating that key charts could not be reproduced with the data provided in the study.
Other scientists also reported that they made materials following the method described in the paper, but that superconductivity close to room temperature was not discovered.
In an interview with WSJ last September, Diaz denied the allegations, saying, “I was not involved in data manipulation or false statements during the research process.”
“This is a very disappointing situation,” said Carl Gimelis, senior editor of Nature Applied and Physical Sciences. “We are committed to post-publication action taken when information that undermines the paper’s conclusions is revealed.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.