Why ‘Room‑Temperature’ Superconductors Like LK‑99 Shook the Internet—and What the Science Really Says

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Room‑temperature superconductivity promises lossless power grids, revolutionary computing, and radically new transportation—and viral claims like LK‑99 briefly convinced millions that this future had suddenly arrived. In reality, the LK‑99 saga became a high‑speed crash course in how modern science, preprints, and social media collide, while serious research into high‑temperature superconductors quietly advances in labs around the world. This article explains what superconductors are, what really happened with LK‑99, where the field stands as of 2025, and why the dream of practical, room‑temperature‑like superconductivity is hard, but far from dead.

Superconductors—materials that conduct electricity with exactly zero resistance below a critical temperature—are among the most remarkable states of matter we know. They already power MRI scanners, particle accelerators, quantum computers, and some maglev trains. Yet all real‑world devices today must be cooled, often with liquid helium or nitrogen, making them expensive and complex.


In mid‑2023, a preprint claiming that a lead–apatite compound called “LK‑99” was a room‑temperature, ambient‑pressure superconductor went explosively viral across X (Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit. While careful follow‑up studies have largely ruled out true superconductivity in LK‑99, the episode reshaped public interest in the field and continues to influence search and social trends into 2025.


To understand why LK‑99 caught fire and what has happened since, we need to zoom out: how superconductivity works, how high‑Tc materials and hydrides fit into the story, how quantum technologies rely on these phenomena, and how the scientific process actually handles bold, uncertain claims.


Mission Overview: The Quest for Room‑Temperature‑Like Superconductivity

The “mission” driving much of modern superconductivity research is clear: discover or engineer materials that become superconducting at or near room temperature (around 20–25 °C, 293–298 K) and at normal atmospheric pressure. Such a breakthrough would have profound technological and economic implications.


Superconductors are defined by two hallmark properties:

  • Zero electrical resistance: DC current can, in principle, flow indefinitely without energy loss.
  • Meissner effect: they expel magnetic fields from their interior, a sign of a distinct thermodynamic phase.

Today, we have:

  1. Conventional low‑Tc superconductors (e.g., NbTi, Nb3Sn) used in MRI and accelerators, operating a few kelvin above absolute zero.
  2. High‑Tc cuprates and iron‑based superconductors, with critical temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K), but still far below room temperature and often sensitive to magnetic fields and material defects.
  3. Hydride superconductors under extreme pressure, where hydrogen‑rich compounds show superconductivity near or above room temperature, but only at megabar pressures in diamond anvil cells.

“Room‑temperature superconductivity at ambient pressure remains one of the grand challenges of condensed‑matter physics, not because we doubt it is possible, but because we have yet to learn how to stabilize the right electronic states in robust materials.”
— Adapted from perspectives in Reviews of Modern Physics

Visualizing the Superconductivity Revolution

Figure 1: A superconductor levitating over a magnet via the Meissner effect. Image credit: Alfred Leitner / American Physical Society / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

Figure 2: Diamond anvil cell used to reach megabar pressures for hydride superconductors. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (public domain / CC-compatible).

Figure 3: A superconducting‑qubit‑based quantum computer housed in a dilution refrigerator. Image credit: IBM Research / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

The LK‑99 Story: From Preprint to Global Frenzy

In July 2023, a South Korean team posted preprints claiming that a modified lead‑apatite crystal, dubbed LK‑99, exhibited superconductivity at around 400 K (above room temperature) and at ambient pressure. Videos circulated showing fragments of the material partially levitating over magnets, which were interpreted by many as evidence of the Meissner effect.


Several features made this claim uniquely viral:

  • Extraordinary claim: Room‑temperature, ambient‑pressure superconductivity would be a “Nobel‑level” discovery with immediate technological implications.
  • Accessible synthesis: The described synthesis route seemed simple enough that many university labs, and even some hobbyists, attempted replication.
  • Social media amplification: TikTok, YouTube, and X lit up with reaction videos, technical threads, and real‑time replication attempts.

Over the following months, independent groups worldwide reported their own measurements. By late 2023 and through 2024, a consistent picture emerged:

  1. Samples synthesized according to the LK‑99 recipe typically showed no zero‑resistance state.
  2. Magnetic measurements suggested ferromagnetism or diamagnetism, but not a robust Meissner phase.
  3. The reported “levitation” could be explained by partial trapping, shape effects, or ferromagnetic behavior, not bulk superconductivity.

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The LK‑99 episode showed how quickly the global community can mobilize to test a bold idea—and how crucial careful, reproducible measurements are before rewriting the textbooks.”
— Condensed‑matter researcher quoted in Nature coverage of LK‑99

By 2025, LK‑99 itself is broadly regarded as a conventional, resistive material with some interesting magnetic quirks, not a superconductor. Yet its impact on public awareness has been immense.


Social Media, Preprints, and the New Pace of Physics

LK‑99 has become a case study in the 2020s scientific information ecosystem. Preprint servers like arXiv allow researchers to share preliminary results rapidly, before full peer review. Social platforms then broadcast these preprints to millions, often within hours.


This has both benefits and risks:

  • Benefits:
    • Rapid community scrutiny and replication attempts.
    • Open access to cutting‑edge ideas, even for those outside elite institutions.
    • Educational opportunities—YouTube explainers and X threads breaking down complex physics.
  • Risks:
    • Premature hype around unverified or flawed results.
    • Public confusion when claims are later refuted or withdrawn.
    • Pressure on scientists to “go viral” rather than proceed cautiously.

Physicists like condensed‑matter experts on X and science communicators on YouTube played a crucial role, posting live analyses of transport curves, magnetization data, and replication preprints. This kind of open peer commentary is becoming part of the modern scientific workflow.


Technology: How Superconductivity Works Under the Hood

At its core, superconductivity arises when electrons form bound pairs—Cooper pairs—that move collectively through a crystal lattice without scattering. The nature of this pairing and the resulting superconducting state depends strongly on the material.


Conventional BCS Superconductors

In conventional superconductors, the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) theory explains pairing via an effective attraction between electrons mediated by phonons (quantized lattice vibrations). Key concepts include:

  • Energy gap in the electronic density of states at the Fermi level.
  • Critical temperature Tc, above which thermal energy breaks Cooper pairs.
  • Critical magnetic field, beyond which superconductivity collapses.

Unconventional Superconductors: Cuprates and Iron‑Based Materials

High‑Tc cuprates (e.g., YBa2Cu3O7−δ) and iron‑pnictides/chalcogenides do not fit neatly into BCS theory:

  • They often emerge from strongly correlated electron backgrounds—Mott insulators or nearly magnetic metals.
  • Pairing may be mediated by spin fluctuations rather than phonons.
  • They exhibit “strange‑metal” behavior, violating standard Fermi‑liquid theory.

Understanding these mechanisms is a major theoretical and experimental challenge, and a key to designing higher‑Tc materials rationally.


Hydride Superconductors Under Extreme Pressure

Hydrogen is predicted to be a high‑Tc superconductor in a metallic phase. Since pure metallic hydrogen is difficult to achieve, researchers study hydrogen‑rich compounds—hydrides—compressed in diamond anvil cells. Notable milestones include:

  • H3S (sulfur hydride) with Tc ~203 K at ~155 GPa.
  • LaH10 (lanthanum hydride) with reports of Tc ~250–260 K at 170–190 GPa.
  • Subsequent claims of near‑room‑temperature hydride superconductivity; some papers have been challenged or retracted.

These systems show that room‑temperature superconductivity is physically achievable, but so far only under immense pressure—far from the engineering sweet spot of ambient conditions.


Superconductivity in Quantum Technologies

Even without room‑temperature materials, superconductivity is central to modern quantum technologies. Superconducting qubits, for example, are built from Josephson junctions—tunnel junctions between superconductors that allow for coherent quantum phase dynamics.


Key elements in a superconducting quantum processor include:

  • Transmon qubits: weakly anharmonic oscillators made from Josephson junctions shunted by capacitors.
  • Resonators and readout circuits: microwaves in superconducting cavities to manipulate and measure qubit states.
  • Ultra‑low‑temperature environments: dilution refrigerators cooling devices to ~10–20 mK.

Companies like IBM, Google, and Rigetti rely on niobium‑based process technologies for their superconducting chips. Incremental materials improvements—higher quality films, better junction interfaces, lower loss dielectrics—translate directly into longer qubit coherence times and more reliable quantum gates.


For readers who want a deeper experimental perspective, the IBM Quantum YouTube channel and specialist explainers on superconducting qubits provide accessible yet technically grounded overviews.


Scientific Significance: Why Room‑Temperature‑Like Superconductors Matter

If robust, manufacturable superconductors operated near room temperature and at ambient pressure, the consequences would be transformative across multiple sectors.


Energy and Power Infrastructure

  • Lossless power transmission: Conventional grids lose ~5–10% of generated electricity in resistive heating. Superconducting lines could dramatically reduce this.
  • Compact, powerful magnets: For fusion reactors, wind turbines, and grid‑scale storage.
  • Superconducting fault current limiters and transformers to enhance grid resilience.

Transportation and Mobility

  • Next‑generation maglev and hyperloop‑like concepts with lower energy consumption.
  • More efficient motors and generators for electric vehicles, aircraft, and ships.

Computing, Sensing, and Communications

  • Superconducting digital logic (e.g., RSFQ, SFQ) with extremely low dissipation.
  • Ultra‑sensitive SQUID magnetometers for brain imaging, geophysics, and fundamental physics.
  • Improved quantum communication links using superconducting detectors and repeaters.

“The leap from cryogenic to ambient superconductors would be comparable in impact to the transition from vacuum tubes to silicon transistors—an enabling technology that quietly reshapes everything.”
— Paraphrasing viewpoints from leading condensed‑matter physicists

The LK‑99 Aftershock: How It Reshaped Public Interest

Although LK‑99 did not deliver on its initial promise, it left a lasting “aftershock” across online communities and search behavior:

  • Searches for terms like “room temperature superconductor”, “Meissner effect”, and “quantum levitation” spiked dramatically.
  • Physics YouTubers and TikTok educators gained large audiences by dissecting the claim in real time.
  • Open replication efforts showcased how quickly distributed labs can test controversial materials.

This event highlighted the importance of:

  1. Reproducibility: Independent replication as the gold standard in experimental physics.
  2. Transparent data sharing: Publishing raw data, synthesis protocols, and code where possible.
  3. Nuanced science communication: Explaining uncertainty and provisional results without dulling public excitement.

For students and enthusiasts, LK‑99 became a gateway to deeper topics such as:

  • Type‑I versus Type‑II superconductors.
  • Vortex pinning and flux‑line lattices.
  • Quantum criticality and strange metals in cuprates.

Milestones in High‑Tc and Hydride Superconductivity

The LK‑99 buzz sometimes obscured a rich, decades‑long history of breakthroughs in high‑Tc superconductivity. Key milestones include:


Cuprates and Early High‑Tc Revolution

  • 1986: Bednorz and Müller discover superconductivity in LaBaCuO at ~35 K, igniting the high‑Tc revolution.
  • Late 1980s–1990s: YBCO and other cuprates push Tc above 90 K, enabling liquid‑nitrogen cooling.
  • Ongoing: Persistent puzzles about pseudogaps, competing orders, and pairing glue.

Iron‑Based Superconductors

  • 2008: Discovery of LaFeAsO1–xFx and related pnictides, with Tc up to ~55 K.
  • Subsequent work on FeSe and monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3 hint at exotic pairing mechanisms.

Hydrides at Extreme Pressures

  • 2015 onward: H3S, LaH10, and other hydrides establish superconductivity up to and beyond 250 K—under megabar pressures.
  • 2020s: Debates, corrections, and retractions emphasize the difficulty of high‑pressure measurements and the need for rigorous cross‑checks.

A useful technical overview is the Nature collection on high‑temperature superconductivity, which surveys progress from cuprates to hydrides.


Modern Methodologies: From High‑Throughput Computation to AI‑Assisted Discovery

As of late 2025, serious work on new superconductors increasingly relies on computational materials design and machine learning, complementing traditional crystal growth and characterization.


High‑Throughput First‑Principles Calculations

Researchers use density‑functional theory (DFT) and beyond‑DFT methods to screen thousands of candidate compounds:

  • Predicting stability, electronic structure, and phonon spectra.
  • Estimating electron–phonon coupling and possible Tc values.
  • Exploring chemical substitutions and pressure tuning.

Platforms like the Materials Project and OQMD provide open databases for this work.


Machine‑Learning‑Guided Discovery

Data‑driven approaches help identify promising regions of chemical and structural space:

  • Training models on known superconductors to predict Tc from composition and structure.
  • Using generative models to propose novel, synthesizable compounds.
  • Optimizing synthesis routes and processing parameters.

Some groups employ reinforcement learning agents that suggest experimental recipes, which are then tested by automated labs—an emerging paradigm sometimes called “self‑driving laboratories.”


Experimental Tools: How We Know a Superconductor When We See One

The LK‑99 debate underscored how strict the criteria are for claiming superconductivity. Robust identification typically involves multiple, converging measurements:


Core Experimental Signatures

  1. Four‑probe resistivity going truly to zero within experimental resolution.
  2. Meissner effect: magnetic susceptibility measurements showing flux expulsion.
  3. Specific heat anomaly at Tc, indicating a bulk thermodynamic phase transition.
  4. Critical field and current measurements mapping the superconducting phase diagram.

Supporting techniques such as muon spin rotation (μSR), angle‑resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) then probe the microscopic state.


Figure 4: A Physical Property Measurement System (PPMS) for characterizing materials at low temperatures and high fields. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (fair use/CC‑compatible illustration).

Challenges: Why Ambient Superconductivity Is So Hard

Achieving robust superconductivity under everyday conditions is difficult for deep physical and materials‑engineering reasons.


Competing Phases and Fragile Order

  • Strong electron correlations can favor magnetism, charge order, or localization instead of pairing.
  • High‑Tc phases are often near quantum critical points, making them sensitive to disorder and strain.

Materials Complexity

  • Many candidate materials have complex crystal structures with multiple sublattices.
  • Precise stoichiometry, oxygen content, and defect control are essential and hard to scale industrially.

Engineering and Scalability

  • Even with a good bulk material, turning it into wires, tapes, or thin films with high critical currents is non‑trivial.
  • Interfaces, grain boundaries, and mechanical robustness matter for any real‑world device.

“Nature does not readily give us superconductivity for free at high temperatures; we are negotiating with a very crowded phase diagram full of competitors.”
— Comment inspired by interviews with leading superconductivity researchers

Practical Tools for Learners and Hobbyists

While developing new superconductors is a professional research endeavor, students and enthusiasts can safely explore related physics and electronics.


Educational Electronics and Cryogenics Kits


Always follow institutional safety guidelines when working with cryogens (like liquid nitrogen), high currents, or strong magnets.


Conclusion: Beyond the Hype, the Science Marches On

LK‑99 did not usher in a new era of room‑temperature superconductivity, but it did reveal something important: how intensely the world is ready for a breakthrough that could rewire our energy systems, computing, and transportation. It served as a global “pop quiz” on how we evaluate extraordinary scientific claims in the age of preprints and social media.


Meanwhile, genuine progress continues. High‑Tc cuprates and iron‑based materials still challenge theory, hydrides under extreme pressure have proven that very high‑Tc phases are possible, and AI‑assisted materials design is opening new frontiers in chemical space. The path to practical, ambient superconductors is likely to be incremental rather than explosive—more a series of steady materials and engineering improvements than a single magical crystal.


For students, engineers, and curious readers, this is an ideal time to engage: foundational skills in solid‑state physics, materials science, computation, and precision measurement are in high demand. Whether or not the first truly practical room‑temperature superconductor appears this decade, the exploration itself is already reshaping how we discover, verify, and share new states of matter.


Further Reading, Courses, and Media

To go deeper into superconductivity and the LK‑99 aftershock, consider the following resources:



Developing a critical reading habit—checking methods, replication status, and expert commentary—will help you navigate future “room‑temperature superconductor” headlines with both healthy skepticism and informed excitement.


References / Sources

Selected references and sources for further study:

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