South Korean experts have created a committee to verify claims about a potential breakthrough in superconductor technology that has been driving both excitement and controversy among markets and industry participants.
The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics (KSSC) asked the Quantum Energy Research Centre to submit samples that are required in the verification process of room-temperature superconductors, the institution said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The claim of a room temperature superconductor discovery is causing a great controversy at home and abroad, but we are concerned about the situation in which unverified claims are being poured out by fellow researchers without an entity responsible for verifying it,” said the KSSC, which consists of professors and experts.
Photo: screen grab from the Web site of ScienceCast
Papers published on July 22 showed researchers at the Quantum Energy Research Centre and other South Korean experts synthesized the world’s first superconductor known as LK-99 that is capable of conducting electricity at room temperature with ambient pressure.
Excitement grew further after a video of a team of Chinese scientists replicating the South Korean team’s findings went viral.
The KSSC said it is difficult to say if the material is a room-temperature superconductor at this point, based on the archived papers and published videos.
Research institutes of KSSC members are to conduct cross verification if the Quantum Energy Research Centre provides samples, the statement said.
The verification committee is to be led by Kim Chang-young, a Seoul National University professor who is an expert in a related field.
“If it is verified, it will be a groundbreaking research result that will have a great impact on science and technology. However, it is worrisome that this verification is being disclosed without academic review, and that it is having economic and social impacts,” the KSSC said.
Meanwhile, investors continued to pile into some South Korean stocks seen as related to superconductors, even as the stock exchange warned of speculative bets and unfair trades.
Korea Exchange late on Wednesday asked investors to be wary before investing in Duksung Co, Mobiis Co and Shinsung Delta Tech Co.
“Investors should be cautious on increased volatility in these superconductor theme stocks as their substance is not clear,” Kiwoom Securities Co analyst Han Ji-young said.
Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday introduced the company’s latest supercomputer platform, featuring six new chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), saying that it is now “in full production.” “If Vera Rubin is going to be in time for this year, it must be in production by now, and so, today I can tell you that Vera Rubin is in full production,” Huang said during his keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas. The rollout of six concurrent chips for Vera Rubin — the company’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform — marks a strategic
Enhanced tax credits that have helped reduce the cost of health insurance for the vast majority of US Affordable Care Act enrollees expired on Jan.1, cementing higher health costs for millions of Americans at the start of the new year. Democrats forced a 43-day US government shutdown over the issue. Moderate Republicans called for a solution to save their political aspirations this year. US President Donald Trump floated a way out, only to back off after conservative backlash. In the end, no one’s efforts were enough to save the subsidies before their expiration date. A US House of Representatives vote
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
US President Donald Trump on Friday blocked US photonics firm HieFo Corp’s US$3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore Corp, citing national security and China-related concerns. In an order released by the White House, Trump said HieFo was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s businesses led the US president to believe that it might “take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” The order did not name the person or detail Trump’s concerns. “The Transaction is hereby prohibited,”
RSS