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2 billion investment, but the controversy caused: China's breakthrough in high-temperature superconductivity research can really change the world?
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On October 2, 2023, a seemingly ordinary autumn day, but because of a paper published in the top international academic journal "Nature", it set off a ripple of scientific community and even public opinion in China, this paper, from the scientific research team of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, they announced that important progress has been made in the research of nickel-based high-temperature superconductors, bringing a new dawn to the problems that have plagued the academic community for many yearsIt seems that a technological revolution is coming
In this cheer, there are also some doubts and worries, 2 billion huge investment, in exchange for a subversive scientific and technological revolution, or a short-lived academic bubble? How far is this high-temperature superconducting technology, which is known as the "material of the future", from us?
1. High-temperature superconductivity: the road to the energy of the future?
To understand this controversy surrounding high-temperature superconductivity, we need to understand what is so amazing about this technology
Imagine what the world would be like if electricity was transmitted and used without any loss. We will say goodbye to energy loss on high-voltage wires, farewell to the heating problem of electronic equipment, and even realize ultra-long-distance wireless power transmission, all of which are the infinite possibilities brought by high-temperature superconducting materials
Superconductivity, refers to the phenomenon that the resistance of certain materials at a specific temperature completely disappears, in 1911, Netherlands physicist Kamerin · Onnes first discovered the superconductivity of mercury, opening the door to human exploration of the superconducting world, the initial discovery of superconducting materials need to be at extremely low temperatures (close to absolute zero, -273.15 °C) to show superconducting properties, which greatly limits its application range
Until the 80s of the 20th century, scientists discovered a material called "copper oxide", which can achieve superconductivity at a relatively high temperature (about -196 °C), which is called the phenomenon of "high-temperature superconductivity".
The emergence of high-temperature superconducting materials means that superconducting technology is no longer a "delicate flower" in the laboratory, but may enter into practical applications and bring revolutionary changes to human society, such as energy, transportation, medical care, and information technology...... Potential applications of high-temperature superconductivity technology can be seen in almost all fields
-Energy: High-temperature superconducting materials can be used to manufacture power transmission cables with very low losses, greatly improving energy efficiency and reducing energy waste
-Transportation: Maglev trains based on high-temperature superconducting technology can achieve higher-speed, smoother, and more energy-saving operation
- Medical field: High-temperature superconducting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide clearer and more accurate medical images, providing more powerful tools for disease diagnosis and treatment
- Information technology: High-temperature superconducting materials can be used to make supercomputers with faster speed and lower power consumption, and promote the development of artificial intelligence, big data and other fields
Despite all the enticing promise of HTS, the road to the future is not easy
Second, the focus of the controversy: a breakthrough or a bubble?
The reason why this research by the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has aroused so much attention and controversy is mainly focused on the following aspects:
1. The degree of breakthrough: is it revolutionary progress or incremental optimization?
The breakthrough of Chinese scientists in nickel-based high-temperature superconducting materials is mainly reflected in the following two points:
- Provides more conclusive evidence: Previously, there was controversy in the scientific community about whether nickel-based materials can actually achieve high-temperature superconductivity, and Chinese scientists used advanced experimental equipment to observe two key pieces of high-temperature superconductivity in polycrystalline samples of praseodymium-doped double nickel-oxide perovskite materials (La2PrNi2O7), providing stronger support for the existence of nickel-based high-temperature superconductivity
- Reveals the influence of microstructure: The study found that the microstructure of materials has an important impact on the performance of high-temperature superconductivity, which provides a new idea for further optimizing the design of materials and improving the superconducting properties in the future
Many scientists have also pointed out that although the research results are important, they are more of a verification and supplement to the existing theories, and have not yet touched the core problem of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity, in other words, we still have a long way to go before we can truly understand and control the phenomenon of high-temperature superconductivity
2. Application prospects: is it a future within reach, or an unattainable dream?
Despite the enormous potential of HTS, there are still many challenges to moving from the laboratory to the field
- Material preparation: At present, the preparation of high-temperature superconducting materials is still very expensive and difficult to produce on a large scale
- Operating temperature: Despite being called "high-temperature" superconductivity, most current high-temperature superconducting materials still require extremely low temperatures to operate, which limits their range of applications
- Technology maturity: High-temperature superconducting technology is still in the early stages of development, and many key technologies have not yet been broken through, such as how to make superconducting materials into devices that can be used in practical applications
Therefore, while the results of this research are exciting, we should also be aware that the widespread application of HTS technology will still take a considerable amount of time, and may even require the continuous efforts of several generations of scientists
3. Huge investment: Is it worth the money, or is it a waste of resources?
The investment of 2 billion yuan in scientific research is not a small amount for any country, and whether this huge amount of money is worth the money or a waste of resources has also become one of the focuses of this controversy
Proponents believe that basic scientific research is the driving force for scientific and technological progress, and that high-temperature superconductivity, as a technology with disruptive potential, is worthy of our investment in a lot of resources to explore, and even if the expected application goals cannot be achieved in the end, the knowledge, technology and experience accumulated in the process will also provide valuable reference for scientific and technological innovation in other fields
Opponents argue that in the current economic situation, limited research funding should be prioritized to solve more pressing social problems, such as health care, environmental protection, education equity, etc., and that it is too risky to invest huge sums of money in a technology that is uncertain whether a breakthrough will be made and when it will be applied.
3. The voice of reason: moving forward in the midst of controversy
In the face of this controversy surrounding high-temperature superconductivity, what we need is not blind optimism, nor easy denial, but to make a more intelligent choice on the basis of rational thinking
1. Science needs to be questioned, but it also needs patience
The development of science is never achieved overnight, behind every major breakthrough, it is inseparable from countless trials and errors and accumulation, for high-temperature superconductivity such a cutting-edge scientific and technological field, even more so, we can not give up exploration because of temporary difficulties, nor can we be blindly optimistic because of temporary results
2. Application takes time, but also requires investment
To transform a technology in the laboratory into practical application, it is necessary to overcome not only technical problems, but also to consider cost, market, policy and other factors
3. Resources need to be optimally allocated, and strategic vision is needed
Under the limited scientific research funds, how to balance the relationship between basic research and applied research, and how to choose the most potential research direction, is a complex problem that needs to weigh the pros and cons
China's breakthrough in the field of high-temperature superconductivity is a microcosm of China's continuous improvement in scientific and technological strength in recent years, in the future of scientific and technological competition, China will play a more important role, we must also be soberly aware that scientific and technological innovation is a marathon, not a 100-meter sprint, only to maintain strategic concentration, continuous investment, in order to finally achieve the goal of becoming a strong country in science and technology
This controversy about HTS may continue for a long time, but we believe that under the guidance of the voice of reason, China's HTS research will continue to move forward in the controversy and ultimately bring benefits to human society
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