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| Purdue physicist Erica Carlson stands in front of an illustration of the fractal clusters present in copper-oxygen based superconducting material. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons) |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Many researchers studying superconductivity strive to create a clean, pure, perfect sample, but a team of physicists found that some flaws might hold the key to a material's unique abilities.
Erica Carlson, a Purdue University associate professor of physics, led a team that mapped seemingly random, four-atom-wide dark lines of electrons seen on the surface of copper-oxygen based superconducting crystals. The team uncovered a pattern in these flawed lines, which are separate from the expected structure of the material, and discovered that they exist throughout the crystal. The findings suggest the lines could play a role in the material's superconductivity at much higher temperatures than others.
"This material is ceramic, like your dinner plates, and it has no business conducting electricity, but under the right conditions it conducts electricity perfectly with zero energy loss," Carlson said. "A better understanding of how and why this superconductor works could help us design better ones. If we can create a superconductor that works at high enough temperatures, it could transform how we use and generate energy."
Purdue University News: Superconductor 'flaws' could be key to its abilities
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