Are Room Temperature Superconductors IMPOSSIBLE?

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to:http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime Superconductive materials seem miraculous. Their resistanceless flow of electricity has been exploited in some powerful ways—from super-strong magnets used in MRIs, particle accelerators and fusion plants. And then there’s, their bizarre ability to levitate in magnetic fields. But the broader use of superconductors is limited because they need to be cooled to extremely low temperatures to work. But what if we could produce superconductivity at room temperature? It would change the world. Check out the Space Time Merch Store https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements! https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/spacetime Search the Entire Space Time Library Here: https://search.pbsspacetime.com/ Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Written by Matt O'Dowd Post Production by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, Adriano Leal & Stephanie Faria Directed by Andrew Kornhaber Associate Producer: Bahar Gholipour Executive Producers: Eric Brown & Andrew Kornhaber Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell Spacetime is produced by Kornhaber Brown for PBS Digital Studios. This program is produced by Kornhaber Brown, which is solely responsible for its content. © 2023 PBS. All rights reserved. End Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg: https://www.youtube.com/user/MultiDroideka Space Time Was Made Possible In Part By: Big Bang Supporters Bryce Fort Peter Barrett David Neumann Sean Maddox Alexander Tamas Morgan Hough Juan Benet Vinnie Falco Fabrice Eap Mark Rosenthal Quasar Supporters Glenn Sugden Alex Kern Ethan Cohen Stephen Wilcox Mark Heising Hypernova Supporters Stephen Spidle Chris Webb Ivari Tölp Zachary Wilson Kenneth See Gregory Forfa Bradley Voorhees Scott Gorlick Paul Stehr-Green Ben Delo Scott Gray Антон Кочков Robert Ilardi John R. Slavik Donal Botkin Edmund Fokschaner chuck zegar Jordan Young Daniel Muzquiz Gamma Ray Burst Supporters Dennis Van Hoof Koen Wilde Nicolas Katsantonis Piotr Sarnicki Massimiliano Pala Thomas Nielson Joe Pavlovic Ryan McGaughy Justin Lloyd Chuck Lukaszewski Cole B Combs Andrea Galvagni Jerry Thomas Nikhil Sharma Ryan Moser John Anderson David Giltinan Scott Hannum Bradley Ulis Craig Falls Kane Holbrook Ross Story Teng Guo Mason Dillon Matt Langford Harsh Khandhadia Thomas Tarler Susan Albee Frank Walker Michael Lev Terje Vold James Trimmier Jeremy Soller Andre Stechert Paul Wood Joe Moreira Kent Durham Ramon Nogueira The Mad Mechanic Ellis Hall John H. Austin, Jr. Diana S Poljar Faraz Khan Almog Cohen Daniel Jennings Russ Creech Jeremy Reed David Johnston Michael Barton Isaac Suttell Oliver Flanagan Bleys Goodson Robert Walter Mark Delagasse Mark Daniel Cohen Shane Calimlim Eric Kiebler Craig Stonaha Frederic Simon John Robinson Jim Hudson Alex Gan David Barnholdt David Neal John Funai Bradley Jenkins Vlad Shipulin Cody Brumfield Thomas Dougherty King Zeckendorff Dan Warren Joseph Salomone Patrick Sutton Dean Faulk