The perfect wire exists — but only in a deep freeze or a diamond vise

The problem

Superconductors conduct electricity with literally zero loss, but every confirmed one needs extreme cold, extreme pressure, or both. At ordinary pressure the record stood at 133 K (−140 °C) in a mercury-based ceramic from 1993 until March 2026, when a University of Houston team showed that 'pressure quenching' locks in superconductivity in that ceramic up to 151 K after the pressure is released. Hydrogen-rich compounds like lanthanum decahydride superconduct near 250 K — but only while crushed to over a million atmospheres inside diamond anvil cells. The field is also recovering from spectacular false alarms: the Dias 'room-temperature' papers were retracted in 2022–2023, and the viral LK-99 claim of 2023 collapsed within weeks of scrutiny. A verified superconductor at room temperature and ambient pressure — let alone one manufacturable as wire — remains undiscovered.

Why it matters

Roughly 5 percent of electricity is lost as heat in transmission, and superconducting magnets are the enabling technology for MRI machines, fusion reactors, and maglev trains — all currently chained to expensive cryogenics. An everyday superconductor would transform power grids, computing, and medicine as profoundly as the transistor did.

Progress so far

• 1911Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity in mercury near 4 K
• 1986Bednorz and Müller discover copper-oxide superconductors, igniting the high-temperature race
• 1993mercury-based cuprate Hg-1223 superconducts at 133 K at ambient pressure, a record that stood for over 30 years
• 2019lanthanum decahydride (LaH₁₀) shows superconductivity around 250 K, but only near 170 gigapascals
• 2023room-temperature claims (carbonaceous sulfur hydride, lutetium hydride) are retracted; LK-99 is debunked by labs worldwide within weeks
• 2026University of Houston reports pressure-quenched Hg-1223 superconducting at up to 151 K at ambient pressure, breaking the 1993 record

References

1. Wikipedia — overview of confirmed records and the retracted claims
2. Nature (Drozdov et al., 2019) — superconductivity around 250 K in lanthanum hydride under high pressure — the confirmed high-pressure benchmark
3. Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston (via Newswise) — March 2026 announcement of the 151 K ambient-pressure record via pressure quenching, published in PNAS