Room-temperature superconductor

A room-temperature superconductor is a material yet to be discovered which would be capable of exhibiting superconducting properties at temperatures above 0° C (273.15 K). This is of course not strictly speaking "room temperature" (20–25° C), however it can be reached very cheaply.

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Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductors, several materials have been claimed as being room-temperature superconductors. In every case, independent investigation has quickly proven these claims false. As a result, most condensed matter physicists now welcome with extreme skepticism any further claims of this nature.

As of 2006, the highest-temperature superconductor (at ambient pressure) is mercury thallium barium calcium copper oxide (Hg₁₂Tl₃Ba₃₀Ca₃₀Cu₄₅O₁₂₅), at 138 K, though there are claims that this can be raised to 164 K by applying high pressure to the superconductor.

More information on this subject can be found here: http://xxx.lanl.gov/ftp/cond-mat/papers/0606/0606187.pdf .

A potential candidate for room temperature superconductivity is metallic hydrogen.