Why Did LK-99 Fail: The Room Temperature Superconductor That Never Was

## Why LK-99 Failed: The Superconductor That Fooled Everyone --- --- ## Chinese Academy Confirms: It's Just a Semiconductor **LK-99 is officially dead.** After **2000+ replication attempts** worldwide, zero succeeded. The **Chinese Academy of Sciences** published the death certificate in November 2024: LK-99 is a semiconductor with **Cu2S impurities**, not a superconductor. The ferromagnetic properties fooled initial tests. The highest real superconductor: **Lanthanum decahydride** at **-23°C** under **200 GPa pressure**. Still needs Antarctica-level cold and crushing pressure. --- --- ## The Physics That Exposed the Lie **What superconductors must show:** - Zero electrical resistance - Meissner effect (magnetic field expulsion) - Critical temperature jump - Josephson tunneling **What LK-99 actually showed:** - Partial levitation (from ferromagnetism) - Resistance drop (from Cu2S phase transition at 127°C) - No Meissner effect - No flux pinning > "LK-99 undergoes structural transition at **400K** from Cu2S impurities, not superconductivity" > > — **Prof. Luo Jianlin**, Chinese Academy **The smoking gun**: Cu2S transitions from hexagonal to monoclinic structure at exactly the temperature LK-99 showed changes. --- --- ## Real Progress: Cuprates at **130K** **Actual breakthroughs in 2024:** - **Japanese (Hg,Re)1223 cuprate**: Works at **130K** (-143°C) - **Harvard twisted cuprates**: New manipulation method for exotic states - **Iron-based (Ba,K)Fe2As2**: **38K** with **1000 A/mm²** current **Still requires**: Liquid nitrogen cooling. [Quantum computers need similar cooling](/technology/quantum-computing-2025-commercial-breakthrough) because the physics is unforgiving. --- --- ## The **$50 Billion** Reality Check **20 companies** manufacture real superconductors: - **YBCO wires** for MRI machines - **Maglev trains** in Japan (**500 km/h**) - **ITER fusion reactor** magnets Timeline to room temperature: - **Optimists**: 10-20 years - **Realists**: 30+ years - **Physicists**: "Maybe never" > "We're either overly enthusiastic or deceptive about room temperature superconductivity" > > — **Elie Track**, HYPRES CTO --- --- ## The Bottom Line **LK-99 taught us this**: Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. After **2000 failed replications**, the verdict is final. Room temperature superconductors remain science fiction. The real progress happens at **-143°C with cuprates**, not viral preprints. Just as [scientists challenge assumptions about digital universe evidence](/science/scientists-found-evidence-digital-universe), the superconductor community learned that even compelling data requires extraordinary validation. _Still waiting for the revolution? Keep your liquid nitrogen handy._ --- --- ## Sources 1. [Chinese Academy of Sciences - LK-99 Debunked](https://phys.org/news/2023-11-myth-room-temperature-superconductivity-lk-.html) - Semiconductor confirmation 2. [Science Magazine - Room Temperature Superconductor Analysis](https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/room-temperature-superconductor-new-developments) - Comprehensive review 3. [Yale Scientific - Superconductor Reality Check](https://www.yalescientific.org/**2024/02**/room-temperature-superconductors-not-so-fast/) - Technical analysis 4. [Harvard Gazette - Twisted Cuprate Breakthrough](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/**2024/01**/high-temperature-superconductors-with-a-twist/) - New methods 5. [Wikipedia - High Temperature Superconductivity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-temperature_superconductivity) - Current records