LK-99 / Room-Temperature Superconductor

About

Room-Temperature Superconductor refers to a hypothesized material that is capable of superconductivity at room temperature, meaning that it has zero electrical resistance. In July 2023, the discovery of a material called LK-99 by South Korean scientists sparked viral discussions and memes about superconductive materials on social media, as well as widespread media coverage.

Origin

In physics, superconductivity is a property of a material that involves zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic flux fields. The discovery of a cheap material that has superconductive properties at ambient pressure and room temperature (or near-room temperature) is sought after in the scientific community due to its numerous practical applications, such as lossless electricity transition, cheap manufacture of powerful magnets, use in quantum computing, energy storage, highly efficient hardware, applications in magnetic levitation, etc.^[1][2]

Until 2023, multiple reports of the creation of room-temperature superconductors had been made in the scientific community, although most of these findings had not been confirmed.^[1]

On July 22nd, 2023, a group of researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology reported the creation of the superconductive material LK-99, which is a slightly modified lead-apatite that can be commonly synthesized, publishing their findings on arXiv.^[3]

As of July 27th, 2023, the discovery of LK-99 superconductivity had not been replicated in a peer-reviewed experiment. The findings have been scrutinized by the scientific community, with multiple experts expressing skepticism, including suspicions that LK-99 exhibited properties that of a diamagnetic, not a superconductor.^[4]

Spread

The published findings were reported by various traditional media and on social media in the following days. For example, on July 25th, 2023, Twitter^[5] account @AiBreakfast posted a video of LK-99 being experimented upon, reporting on the discovery. The tweet received over 510 retweets and 2,600 likes in two days (shown below).

On July 25th, 2023, Twitter^[6] user and Princeton graduate Alex Kaplan made a thread about the discovery, explaining the potential applications of the material. The first tweet in the thread (shown below, left) received over 22,100 retweets and 128,000 likes in one month.

National Lab Supercomputer Simulation

On July 31st, 2023, physicist Sinéad Griffin published the results of a simulation made using a supercomputer at the Department of Energy. According to the findings, the material theoretically could superconduct if conduction pathways are in the right conditions and places. On that day, @sineartrix tweeted^[8] a link to the paper published on arXiv,^[9] adding a reaction Mic Drop GIF. The tweet (shown below) gained over 1,300 retweets and 8,100 likes in one day.

https://t.co/TW81iqiS9C #lk99 pic.twitter.com/oQrnEkapme

— Sinéad Griffin (@sineatrix) August 1, 2023

Later that day, engineer Andrew Cote then made a tweet^[10] explaining the findings, which received over 5,800 retweets and 17,500 likes in one day (shown below).

On August 1st, 2023, an unconfirmed video of the LK-99 experiment being replicated by Chinese researchers was widely circulated online (shown below).^[11]

Second #lk99 replication from China pic.twitter.com/jcI3C35hxF

— LERE (@lere0_0) August 1, 2023

"Russian Catgirl" Iris Conducts Experiment

On July 29th, 2023, Twitter^[14] user, soil scientist and purported "anime catgirl" @iris_IGB began a thread showing her attempt to recreate the LK-99 experiment in her own kitchen. Iris begins by providing a short history lesson on superconductor research and goes on to criticize the Korean scientists' methods for synthesizing various materials needed to conduct the experiment (seen below).

Iris then proceeds to reconfigure the steps in the Korean LK-99 paper, and posts updates on her kitchen chemistry process over the last weekend in July 2023. On July 30th, @iris_IGB posted two photos^[15] appearing to successfully replicate the LK-99 experiment and showing what they call a "speck of shit" being held up by "superdiamagnetism" (seen below).

Various tech enthusiasts subsequently commented on the notion that a "Russian Catgirl" might have been the first to successfully replicate the LK-99 experiment and expressed amusement at Iris's snarky tone in sharing her process. For example, on July 31st, Twitter^[16] user @8teAPi posted a summary of events and discussed Iris in particular (seen below, left), and on August 1st, Twitter^[17] user @DanielleFong posted screenshots from a comment discussing Iris on the /r/redscarepod^[18] subreddit (seen below, right).

On August 1st, Iris^[19] responded to her characterization as a "Russian Catgirl" by saying she is Russian by nationality and Ukranian by birth. She also adds that she isn't a catgirl but her girlfriend is (seen below).

Prediction Markets

Following the initial reports of the potential discovery, prediction markets for the successful replication of the LK-99 experiment prior to 2025 were launched on Manifold^[12][13] and other betting markets. As of August 1st, 2023, on Manifold, the betting consensus hovered in the 40 percent probability range.

Use in Memes

Starting in late July 2023 as the news of the potential discovery achieved virality on Twitter, the topic became a subject of viral discussions and memes, further boosted by the online popularity of the 2023 biographical film Oppenheimer that was released around the same time.

For example, on July 26th, 2023, Twitter^[7] user @Brad08414464 posted an I Should Buy a Boat meme that gained over 380 retweets and 5,300 likes in one day (shown below, left). Later on July 26th, Twitter user @netcapgirl posted an Ice Cream So Good meme that received over 2,200 retweets and 21,600 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Rumored New Room Temperature Superconductor

On January 3rd, 2024, a paper was published by a team of Chinese researchers identifying a possible compound, similar to LK-99, which could be a superconductor.^[20] The paper did not come to firm conclusions, but showed much data that was encouraging. Posters online greeted this new development with skepticism and wariness. For example, @pronounced_kyle on X posted about their willingness to "get hurt again" over hoping the new superconducting material was the real deal (seen below) in a January 3rd post that received nearly 3,000 likes in one day.^[21]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References