Tracking LK-99 Superconductor Replication Efforts With Meissner Effect

Huanzhong Univesity and Iris Alexander claim to have replicated and seen some Meissner effect. Berkeley Lab and Shengyang lab have separate theory papers with simulation on how and why LK99 and variants will work. There are at least a dozen publicly announced or rumored replication efforts.

BREAKING UPDATES: Two theoretical papers from national labs support LK-99 .
1. Berkeley National Lab simulations support that LK-99 structure can support and enable superconductivity.

Simulations show – interesting conduction pathways only form when the copper atom percolates into the less likely location in the crystal lattice, or the ‘higher energy’ binding site. This means the material would be difficult to synthesize since only a small fraction of crystal gets its copper in just the right location. ie. Difficult to make unless changes are made to the procedure, but if we make it then it will work

2. China National Lab (Shenyang) first principles analysis suggest gold and silver doping LK-99 will make superconductors as well.

3. Under the guidance of Professor Chang Haixin, postdoctoral Wu Hao and doctoral student Yang Li of the School of Materials Science and Technology of Huazhong University of Science and Technology they have successfully verified and synthesized the LK-99 crystal. It can be magnetically levitated for the first time and this is shown on a bilibili video. They expect to realize the true sense of non-contact superconducting magnetic levitation.

There is a partial list of the known professional and amateur efforts at replicating the LK-99 superconductor experiments. It is partial because something this potentially huge and this simple will have hundreds of efforts to replicate. IF this is ultimately proven to work, there will be high school and undergraduate lab projects to make room temperature superconductors starting in the fall of this year. Tracking table is Guderian2nd’s table on the discussion thread on Spacebattles.

The list has links to the different announcements and other public information from the replication efforts.

Not on the forum list is the Condensed Matter Theory Center (CMTC) at @UofMaryland is a research center for condensed matter physics.

Not of the list is University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The Journal Science article that reported the Argonne National Lab work also reports University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Quotes from the Journal Science

“They come off as real amateurs,” says Michael Norman, a theorist at Argonne National Laboratory. “They don’t know much about superconductivity and the way they’ve presented some of the data is fishy.” On the other hand, he says, researchers at Argonne and elsewhere are already trying to replicate the experiment. “People here are taking it seriously and trying to grow this stuff.” Nadya Mason, a condensed matter physicist at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign says, “I appreciate that the authors took appropriate data and were clear about their fabrication techniques.” Still, she cautions, “The data seems a bit sloppy.”

The general public seems oddly pumped about how ‘easy’ the 4-day, multistep, small batch, solid state synthesis is,” Jennifer Fowlie, a condensed matter physicist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, quipped on Twitter. “Some of you haven’t had blisters from overusing your pestle and it shows.” Nevertheless, physicists will put the claim to the test very quickly, Norman predicts: “If this is real, we’ll know within a week.”

19 thoughts on “Tracking LK-99 Superconductor Replication Efforts With Meissner Effect”

  1. Person behind anime girl avatar is to be taken seriously.
    She should post video if it is really Meissner Effect. Not just photo, video! If she is legit, that shouldn’t be hard.

  2. That looks like a pretty small sample. I’d love to get hands on one in the 4-5ct range that shows the Meissner effect, or at least strong diamagnatism. I cut gemstones as a hobby and have cut apatite before which has a hardness of about 5. Given a large enough sample, then orient it correctly, one could cut a gemstone say a small standard round brilliant that would levitate over a magnet with the pavilion (pointy end) facing down. Figure 50% cutting loss so 4ct would yield a 2 ct finished product.

    That would be a really cool one of a kind thing. Not practical, but still…

  3. EM shielding seems interesting, I wonder if it has significance for computing as well? Maybe some advanced spaceship circuitry?

    Hopefully, it turns out to be correct and even suggests ways to improve the design and process. Maybe superconductivity isn’t as difficult once ways to achieving it are properly understood

  4. SMES may at last be doable.
    Was it ASTEN that talked about a 160 km loop?

    There has been research into magnetics allowing a violation of Kirchhoff’s Law:

    https://phys.org/news/2023-07-energy-harvesting-law-breaking-device.html

    https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/solar-power-satellites.39929/page-3#post-612841

    Something odd about solar magnetics—that is the reason the Sun’s corona is so hot:
    https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ace423/pdf

    Now this talk about dark energy coming from from a strong magnetic zone of the Sun.
    https://phys.org/news/2021-09-dark-energy-scientists-possibility.html

    Maybe we can get more from Dyson Harrop?

  5. I saw this on a Chinese website.
    Here is the translated version. The names and terms are a bit funky but you should be able to figure out most of it.
    Not sure how factual this is but it is entertaining 5 min read for context

    https://www.zhihu.com/people/liu-da-yang-84

    Make it calm.​​

    Excellent respondents on scientific research topics

    ​Concerned

    The translator press: It is certain that Koreans have concealment of the synthetic details. The insiders gave a little information. 1. Oxygen must be released in the second half of the synthesis process. 2. Appropriate vibration fluids to obtain crystals.The translator is not sure the truth or falseness of the information mentioned. The translation is basically loyal to the original. It does not constitute any scientific guidance.

    Translation fromhttps:/twitter.com/8teAPi/status/1685641634892128256 There were minor changes.

    Title: The Phost in Machines (translation: Suspicion of Li Shipei himself describes the 20-year research process of LK-99)

    In 1996, Jin Zhixun, 24, entered the Department of Chemistry at the University of Korea with a faceful tone. He is a chemical synthesis with the habit of old-fashioned synthetic major — that is, “no reason to speak, my men see the truth. ” At that time, the Department of Chemistry was led by a charming cow TS Chair (Cui Dong-chi). Professor Cui proposed a one-dimensional inorganic polymer chain that was deviated from the transverse in 1994 and was not widely accepted to realize superconducting theory ISB Theory. Li Shipei, a disciple of Cui, was enthusiastic and energetic, published his master’s thesis Explanation of Supercontinuity by the ISB Theory in 1995. Kim Zhixun was actually studying battery materials at first and received a master’s degree in 1997. Professor Li Shipei and Cui then persuaded him to join his superconductor team to study for his PhD in chemical synthesis. Kim Zhixun conducted hundreds of experiments on dozens of ceramic mixtures. In 1999, a lead apatite sample showed a small fluctuation that seemed unique to the superconductor. They repeated the experiment and the other two samples showed the same fluctuation.

    But the signal is too vague, or it may be an unspeakable instrument error. Kim Zhixun was too cautious to worry that there was nothing to do. He chose not to pursue further research on superconductors and recycle battery materials. Four years later, he completed his PhD and joined a small hearing aid battery company. Li Shipei continued to study ISB superconductors. Although he and Professor Cui revised the theory to narrow the search range like a needle in a sea, they left the synthetic Kim students, they got nothing. In 2008, Li Shipei absorbed part of Kim’s work and published his doctoral thesis in the theory and synthesis of superconductors. Li then joined a small private university as a part-time professor in the Department of Computer Science. He has not done any more scientific research and is not interested in teaching. In 2008, he founded Q-center with Kim Zhi-hoon. Q-center mainly takes some regular consulting work and makes some pocket money. Kim Zhi-hoon occasionally goes there to sit. Although they tried to do some experiments, they did not see much as if research was just a hobby.

    Professor Cui Dong-chi was ill in early 2017. The news came to his students and people began to visit him. Cui Dongzhit found Kim Ji-hoon and Li Shipei and told them they must find the ghosts that appeared in the machine in 1999. He died in May and said, “Please, keep studying, but do not let the world see it until it is perfect. ”

    Kim Zhixun told Li Shipei that he had a wife and son and that he could not work as hard as he was a graduate student. If Li Shipei wants him to work full-time, he has to raise money to buy an ESR machine and an SQUID machine. Lee Shipei’s old friend, Professor Cui Dongzhi, and Professor Keun Ho Auh, Honorary Professor of Hanyang, began to raise money everywhere. They filed an application with the Korea National Science Foundation to buy funds for ESR equipment. However, since Jin Zhixun and Li Shipei have not published any scientific research papers since the postgraduate stage, applications have been naturally rejected. As a result, they met with a contact with Koryo’s permanent position in professorship. Quan Ying-chan is an outstanding and credible physicist, and he has both ESR expertise and SQUID machine access.

    Quan Ying still thinks the pair have some amateurs, but it’s good to get money without too much responsibility. As a result, he signed an appointment with Q-center at the end of 2017. And he was able to keep him in college, but occasionally came to guide him.

    Finally, after receiving funding, they bought an ESR machine, and Kim Ji-hoon added Q-center full-time in early 2018. Kim Zhixun’s work habits as chemists focus on familiarity, while Quan Ying-chan, as a physicist, tends to be clear and clean. The difference led to an argument: Kim Zhi-hoon found a faint signal on ESR, consistent with the results he had seen in 1999. But physicist Quan Qianzhi believes this is totally untenable in theory. They quickly argued. Mr. Li tried to mediate the dispute, but when he saw the fluctuations on the chart as they had been seen 20 years ago. He was shocked and suddenly realized that the only person who had approached the ghost in the past 20 years was actually Kim Ji-hoon.

    Like playing hide-and-seek with the universe, Kim listened to faint signals through ESR. He sometimes feels closer to the truth and sometimes feels further away from the truth. Such a weak signal certainly doesn’t convince outsiders that existing theories are difficult to solve problems and he has to develop a new search method. Finally, one morning in 2020, at a time of the global blockade of the new epidemic, he unexpectedly saw a huge peak in previous weak signals (picture below).

    Kim Ji-hoon repeated the test, but did not see such a strong signal in the new sample. He checked the lab records and couldn’t do it. Is there a mistake? So he started checking lab surveillance footage and photos. He found that the quartz capsule with a significant ascension had cracked when it was taken out. And he looked back at the video and hit his elbow when he saw him transfer his capsule to the scale after the stove exit. He suddenly realized that cracks should lead to the introduction of oxygen at the right time, and then to the structure of the emerging lead phosphate crystal. Moreover, the elbow hit the table, resulting in the introduction of vibrations that promoted crystal formation.

    From here on, work is going fast. Within three months, they found the ghosts that plagued the team for 20 years and crystallized them. You can hold it in your hand. It can float. Like a magic stone (the original text).

    Li Shipei was very excited and Kwon Young was stunned.

    But they still don’t have enough funds or equipment for comprehensive feature measurement. The superconductor’s critical temperature is so high that it exceeds the measurement of their hands.

    Qu Ying began to deduce from a physical point of view. He doesn’t think Cui Dongzhi’s theory explains what happened. He knew that “the near water tower is first moon” He has a huge lead in all physics homes. If he can take the lead in finding out, he will certainly have a Nobel Prize. However, this eventually led him to a direct conflict with the team’s theorist Li Shipei.

    It’s just that this process is very focused on synthesis. Powder must be mixed evenly with a bowl and amaranth to obtain fully uniform particles. If you buy premixed powder, do not use a bowl and amaranth, or move too slowly from a stove to a cooling station, it can lead to crystal failure. Only Kim Ji-hoon was able to make magic floating stones by hitting a vacuum quartz capsule at the right time after taking them out of the stove.

    They contributed to Nature but rejected the manuscript due to the controversy over Langa Dias. Quan Ying-chan blamed Kim Zhixun’s late mentor Cui Dongzhizhizhi’s one-dimensional inorganic polymer theory.

    Mr. Li believes the problem is that people must see the magic stone with their own eyes to convince themselves. However, during the new Guan epidemic, their three-man team was unable to enter and exit South Korea to show the material to international reviewers. Things can only be kept stalling. By the end of 2021, Quan Ying decided to focus on vacation. Li Shipei and Jin Hyun-chao, a Korean scientist, were in contact. Although at the beginning, Kim Hyun-chio is not convinced of the so-called room temperature constant pressure superconductor. However, after a recovery from his trip to the new crown, Kim went to the lab to see the magic stone, then changed his position and succeeded from Kim Zhi-hoon, able to repeat the preparation process of LK-99 independently by his team in the United States. Although production remains low. Maybe only one success per 10 attempts.

    However, due to Kim Hyun-chao’s strong addition, Quan’s role was reduced to the extent that only SQUID measurements were carried out. In March 2023, Quan Ying was fired after arguing with the team. The rest of the team went on.

    • If this is true, it’s going to be more difficult to replicate than expected. Hopefully with more people working on this, someone will stumble on a more reproducible protocol.

  6. Question: would a machine built with superconducting wires, electronics and motors pretty much only need to be charged once?

    • Of course not. Motors do work. Work is the conversion of energy (electricity) into some other form — movement, heat, whatever. In other words, if there are motors, energy is being used and converted and therefore lost from the system.

      • About 10 years ago I developed a magnet motor that produces usable torque and RPM and can easily drive a generator or whatever you need.
        Naturally all the “scientists” claim it’s impossible. So were many other things that are now commonplace.
        But I can’t find anyone ever remotely interested in helping with further development

    • No. If it uses energy it still uses up charge. The superconducting part just ensures that you don’t waste energy in unwanted heat.

    • Only if it never did anything 🙂

      Think of it as a battery.

      Theoretically a superconducting loop can hold a charge indefinitely but when you make use of some of that energy…. that amount of energy is taken from the loop and is gone until the loop is recharged from some outside source.

      SC motors and electronics can make the *use* of that stored power very, very, very efficient but it’s not a perpetual motion machine.

  7. Looks like a partial success. We will have to wait for more. Even if it is partial, others can upgrade work, which was done.

    They were transparent. They share data and encourage others to replicate results. Looks promising. Hard to tell before we get more results from others. It would be strange to publish it and encourage others to replicate it, if their success was not at least partial.

    If true it could be total game changer. Everything what uses electricity could get super effective and benefit. Of course there are many IF’s, can it be mass produced cheap enough, does it work as it should at room temperature and normal pressure?,…

    • Something the last few days have taught me is that many of the applications forecast for a room temperature superconductor are dependent on properties of an ideal one. There is a possibility that this one, if it works out, may only supply a partial wish list. That’s still great but we may see some disappointments for some applications. Superconductor extension cords or transmission lines may not be in the cards any time soon but EM shielding could end up being useful in a lot of fields.

      • nobody cares about superconductor transmission lines

        it would not be worth it to run them even if it were cheaper than copper.

        • Well you could do silly things like make a mega nuclear farm in the far reaches of northern Canada far from the NIMBYs. Maybe something like 100GW and push it to the grid in USA via lossless lines.

          Not saying you need to do this as I agree that it won’t ever be better than copper but we do get some interesting possibilities with making transcontinental grids (in a world that is insourcing power production as quickly as possible).

        • High tension wires are aluminum.. point likely moot since not much is cheaper than aluminum.

        • If it was at least as cheap as copper, and as easy to deploy and maintain, and produced on a large enough scale, then you would likely see new lines made from that instead. There wouldn’t be a reason not to. But the old lines would likely remain.

        • “nobody cares about superconductor transmission lines”

          Don’t we lose something like 40% of the power we produce due to transmission losses? Superconducting transmission lines would be a game changer!

          Now I’ve ready that stuffs ability to superconduct breaks down over 300mA so that would pose a problem. But to say no one cares about transmission lines is about as wrong as you can be.

    • Their process was very simple and has direct equivalents in industry. The materials are also widely available and not too expensive. So if this works as claimed, it should be pretty easy to scale. But there is likely still room for optimization, both in the manufacturing process and eventually in the material properties, with better superconductors.

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