The Impact of Superconductors

Superconductors offer us a path to high-efficiency, low-loss power and energy, but the impact they'll have on our civilization through other technologies may be far greater, and we'll explore the science or superconductivity works and what future technology it will of us.
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Credits:
The Impact of Superconductors
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur
Episode 250; August 6, 2020
Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur
Editors:
Jerry Guern
Keith Blockus
S. Kopperud
Cover Art:
Jakub Grygier www.artstation...
Graphics:
Jarred Eagley
Jeremy Jozwik www.artstation...
Justin Dixon
Ken York / ydvisual
Katie Byrne
Sergio Botero www.artstation...
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound epidemicsound.c...

[@Zerepzerreitug]

I got LK-99 problems, but resistance is not one of them

[@gingernutpreacher]

Ain't one*

[@derkatzenfuerst6077]

Nice.

[@bornkinggamer3347]

I like how when you sort by new there are no comments for 10 months until LK-99 new dropped. What's funny is it was recommended to me.

[@skipperg4436]

Was recommended to me too. Makes sense actually. Kinda exciting that - if stars aligned - we might see one of sci-fi materials making its way into ordinary reality. What's next? Thermoelectric converters with good efficiency?=)

[@apoorv_mc]

well Isaac, we have invented the room temp superconductor today, lets see what all comes true

[@WokeandProud]

It's bullshit because the problem isn't the temperature we've had high temp super conductors for over thirty years the problem is the material you can't make wires out of a brick.

[@Excellerator420]

Congrats on 250 i cant wait for the next 250. One bright side to my job is being encouraged to use headphones in a factory atmosphere. So I have 10hrs a day to fill with podcasts and audiobooks. Being from Dayton area this channel was a godsend. For the entertainment value and helping to support a fellow Ohioan. Keep up the good work man and stay safe out there :)

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Good old Dayton, other corner of the state but I was a research intern at Wright-Patt AFB back in 2000

[@PatrickLohKamp]

I have pretty much watched every single episode at this point. MUCH LOVE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING DEDICATION TO THIS.

[@bushtrash2286]

Really cool to here you on Coast to Coast AM

[@MagpieMcGraw]

Many nuclear reactors in close proximity is what I built in Red Alert 2. Didn't end well.

[@shazmosushi]

Chrono legionnaires are such a cool science fiction unit

[@JRexRegis]

@@shazmosushi The Tesla Troops are pretty rad as well

[@TruAnRksT]

You know the first nuclear reactors were created by nature, and the first men to discover them ... were sorry.

[@sid2112]

Ultra high temperature superconductors, that's what's up. Something that would work in 1000+ degree Celsius would be friggin useful.

[@uTubeMeltsYourBrain]

The solution to the Fermi paradox is that we kill ourselves - relativistic kill missile

[@pedrosura]

Any word or comment on the Navy Room Temperature Superconductor Patent?

[@joelkreider5042]

Who else is here becusae of LK-99

[@alexanderthemagnifcent2573]

Me

[@belliduradespicio8009]

yup, time for a refresher

[@thisguyoverhere6572]

So is anyone else back here after the recent paper about scientists creating room temperature superconductors (albeit at extremely high pressures)?

[@softb]

I am! Also a radiative cooling paint that’s colder than room temp

[@medexamtoolscom]

It has actually been known for a long time that under high pressure, pure hydrogen becomes a high temperature superconductor. This is just the first time anyone actually did it. Though they used a mixture of methane and hydrogen sulfide instead of pure hydrogen - basically swamp gas. But it's not useful. Consider this - they don't even use the kind that uses liquid nitrogen in MRI machines, they use the kind that uses liquid helium, simply because it's too much of an inconvenience dealing with the brittle ceramics that superconduct in liquid nitrogen, so they use the much more expensive liquid helium just for THAT. Consider that liquid helium is 50 times more expensive than liquid nitrogen, so if they're not even willing to deal with the relatively minor inconvenience of using the hard to shape and brittle ceramics to save 50 bucks, do you really think they're going to use materials that need to be put under 3 million atmospheres of pressure, in order to save 51 bucks?

[@chrisschembari2486]

@ThisGuyOverHere I am. I just watched another video about that breakthrough, and YT offered me this video right after it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oX6ae2hshN10bNk

[@dracor.331]

Me

[@xbox70333]

I am here for room temperature and pressure lol

[@geryz7549]

"There will be no resistance to the widespread adoption of superconductors" I see what you did there...

[@axiomostanes]

Resistance is futile

[@albertjackinson]

That was a really good pun!

[@Prbkkb]

Haha smooth

[@muninrob]

I had hoped that one would be too "cool" to resist.

[@HiroNguy]

Electrical puns are as easy as PIE.

[@MachineManGabb]

Search engine optimization lk 99 lK 99 Lk 99 LK 99 LK-99 Lk-99 lK-99 lk-99

[@FiNiTe_weeb]

KZbin algo doing its thing lol

[@itogisch]

This video will have an influx of LK-99 enjoyers. Who else is here with me on the hype train?

[@Simeeow]

Yup!

[@douglastjones9830]

Please be true! 2023 Korean team!

[@E1025]

Where my LK-99 boys at

[@randomman5188]

Its been replicated and confirmed by multiple labs

[@smartwater598]

Bow down to Koreans

[@mqb3gofjzkko7nzx38]

They are coping right now.

[@listenatwork99]

Watching this now that a room temperature superconductor has apparently been created makes me super excited for what's to come. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a hoax.

[@emopanda116]

It's looking like we have a green light! Papers are coming though the works! Although defects ect have to be figured out. But hey it's looking like our life time kind of stuff

[@hoangvuification]

Uwu so rare to found on youtube

[@sensora9646]

​@@hoangvuificationOwo let's wish for the best UwU

[@hatman3445]

Don't wanna sound like doomer, but this kind of technology will take decades to implement, so don't get too excited.

[@azder4140]

​@@hatman3445 ww3 noticing you're not a complete doomer yet:

[@erickansa5498]

Watching on the off-chance that #LK99 is more than a fool's hopium...

[@randomman5188]

Its been replicated and confirmed by multiple labs

[@Ethorbit]

@@randomman5188 you say this without pointing to any evidence

[@mqb3gofjzkko7nzx38]

@@randomman5188 Name one.

[@MatthewKanwisher]

Who is watching this after the lk-99 news ?

[@reiito8727]

LK-99 I want to believe

[@mxmstrj]

Who is here bc LK99

[@maxminton3693]

Please be real please be real please be real please be real please be real

[@baliiiiii]

This aged well LK99 please be real

[@AlexJohnsonSays]

I'm sure this video will get a lot more traffic over the next few weeks

[@edpistemic]

To do list this week: -invent nuclear fusion machine -create warm superconductor -chill

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

absolute chill

[@kindlin]

-Only a hundred billion degrees -Has warm in name, but is 35 kelvin

[@Baigle1]

If you can separate all the neutrons and nucleons of a heavy (high-Z) atom, you can get far more energy than the standard radionuclide decay chain. It takes a lot of energy input, and has a relatively low total output power (using modern accelerators and non-specific materials selection) versus piling a bunch of dangerous rocks in tubes until they heat up. Lanthanum Decahydride (LaH10) at extreme pressure (~170GPa, or 1,700,000 bar) is a type 3 superconductor at ~250-260 degrees Kelvin, -13.15 degrees Celsius, or 8.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Educated speculations assume that Lanthanum, Yittrium, or Calcium Hydrides may be able to achieve superconductivity at up to 320 degrees Kelvin, or ~116 degrees Fahrenheit at extreme (around 1 million atmospheres again) pressure. Other promising combinations are Cerium Superhydrides, Palladium Superhydrides, Thorium Superhydrides, Uranium Superhydrides, Metal Boro or Carbo-Hydrides, and other "hydrogen clathrate structures". The working theory is that the atoms are so tightly packed that any vibrations due to heat do not cause large lattice movements, thus providing stable tubes for paired up electrons to travel through. High temperature superconductors may be a good candidate for high efficiency electro-reactor designs, or as a replacement for any materials that emit, absorb, or transfer electrons via pressure or impulse. Right now we cannot maintain these near-room-temperature SC materials because they exceed the compression strength of even diamond anvils at ~100GPa. "Superconductivity at 250 K in lanthanum hydride under high pressures A. P. Drozdov, P. P. Kong, V. S. Minkov, S. P. Besedin, M. A. Kuzovnikov, S. Mozaffari, L. Balicas, F. F. Balakirev, D. E. Graf, V. B. Prakapenka, E. Greenberg, D. A. Knyazev, M. Tkacz & M. I. Eremets Nature volume 569, pages528-531(2019)" www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1201-8 If you want to learn more, you can study the 3 popular theories behind advancements in superconductors: Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer, Migdal-Eliashberg, and Density-functional-theory.

[@MarshallTheArtist]

I imagine you're going to update us about a certain development in Korea...

[@MrMatklug]

LK-99 gang rise up

[@yeager1957]

I’m surprised you didn’t make a community tab post with this video linked since LK-99 is **maybe** a thing

[@mrjava66]

One of the "coolest" things you could do with high-temp superconductors is that you could build a global magnetic field around Mars. Once you have a global magnetic field, you can lower radiation levels and increase atmosphere retention time. Mars would be MUCH easier to colonize with a magnetic field.

[@EvitoCruor]

I still don't understand why you would want to colonize it. I'd much rather build orbitals out of its moons.

[@andreiharkov5110]

Evito Cruor I don’t know why you wouldn’t when you haven’t even searched the Martian soil for any artifacts or resources that could surpass oil and nuclear energy and it’s the closest we have to earth

[@accidos]

@@andreiharkov5110 Nearly every valuable Resource is more accessible in Asteroids and Moons. Most heavy elements have sunken into the core of planets. This will not be different on Mars, even if we havn't done a lot of prospecting. There is a lot of cool manufacturing techniques and research that you can do in zero gravity, but not on Mars. If you are looking for opportunities for mankind, that are not accessible on earth, it's not a good idea to colonize a nearly identical planet but without atmosphere or magnetic field. For new breakthroughs better go to titan, the upper atmosphere of venus or even good old lunar.

[@andreiharkov5110]

Acidos you are not a scientist nor have you found any brand new resource nor have you been to mars and checked under neither the planet

[@andreiharkov5110]

Acidos that’s your inferior opinion similar to the people who thought people should have stayed in their respective countries thinking it was a bad idea to explore and find the opportunities beyond the shore line

[@nickfranssen6893]

Watching this a few days after the Korean Room Temperature Superconductor study came out. Crazy times we live in!

[@calicoesblue4703]

Lk-99 isn’t a room temperature conductor.🤷

[@gatonegativa9582]

Today, 26 of july 2023, a paper by south korean researchers has found a way to make a superconductor with room temperature and pressure. Its has not been peer reviewed yet, but it looks legit.

[@Marf-yt]

Better than room temperature, up to 127C (261F).

[@damiangoryl9302]

The most important thing of this paper is that the method is extremally simple and easy to replicate, materials are dirt cheap, so in a few weeks we will know if it really works. I went back to this video because of this study. For anyone interested, the candidate for RTS is called LK-99.

[@shamgar348]

@@damiangoryl9302 Very excited about this! Just waiting to see if it can be replicated!

[@maomaomaimaimao]

Oh boy can't wait for black mirror type tech

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

It was not, in fact, legit.

[@Rose_Harmonic]

Apparently people involved in LK 99 are racing to get credit, which is a green flag.

[@mqb3gofjzkko7nzx38]

They struck fool's gold.

[@TheDavidKidane]

Are we going to revisit this now with the South Korean LK-99 Room Temp Superconductor

[@sarcasmo57]

Looks like room temperature super conductors might actually be here now.

[@calicoesblue4703]

Nope, not yet

[@gymnopedie5641]

LK-99 better be real

[@salamsalam9692]

Who is here post LK-99?

[@MrNote-lz7lh]

Aye. I am. This seems like the real deal this time and I can't wait until it's confirmed... or not.

[@shabazzmcclain5049]

Me, I can't wait to see the reproductions of the experiment. it could help a ton in better understanding photosynthesis.

[@bjdripley]

i hope it's real. we'll know soon...

[@bornkinggamer3347]

Yep fingers crossed let's not get too excited for now. There's a lot of skepticism in the scientific community thus far.

[@MrNote-lz7lh]

@@bornkinggamer3347 Too late. I already went through my excitement phase. Now no matter if it's repeatable or not will get a meh response from me.

[@crashstarr6531]

I hate that this got reccomended to me again this week lol. Those articles coming out of korea have me in that 'don't give me hope' meme

[@randomman5188]

Its been replicated and confirmed by multiple labs

[@crashstarr6531]

@randomman5188 if you've got links, I'd love to read something more solid than pop-sci reporting! I'm not sure where to look to find the credible reports for something like this

[@shreyass5756]

​@@crashstarr6531 some have failed and some have succeeded but there is no conclusive proof for this because even the ones that they said have successfully replicated are simply claims. We have to wait for this race to end and some conclusive papers which are properly reviewed unlike those Korean papers

[@thesenate1844]

Its lovely to see all the new comments here after LK-99

[@RAC91]

Who is here after the new lk99 discovery??

[@saintjimmy2244]

Mate , I've been with you from around a thousand subs and it is still great. Keep it up. And thanks😊😊👌👌👍👍

[@paulv6910]

A question. I am curious if you, Isaac Arthur, would consider doing a video about "ion lifters" and how they work. I was reading this blog post: infomashup.com/mashups/Who-Made-the-Triangle-UFOs?tID=rzvp2n5li8z And I am curious what, from the perspective of exotic physics ( pardon the term ), is going on here?

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Maybe, seems an interesting topic

[@damagedengine2090]

If I recall correctly, this is an electric wind thruster and the explanation is that when air molecules hit one of the electrodes the voltage is so high that the particles are ionised, and since the particles are now electrically charged they are pushed towards the opposite electrode by the electric field between the electrodes. As the ionised particles travel from one electrode to the other, they collide with neutral particles in the air, accelerating it and producing a reaction force on the thruster. Then the particles hit the other electrode and most of them are neutralised, however there will still be some ionised byproducts such as ozone. You can think of it like an electric propeller except the propeller blades are separate air molecules moving through a magnetic field. These thrusters do not work in a vacuum because there is no working fluid to ionise. Also, a group of researchers at the MIT has recently built the first self-contained aircraft using this type of thruster.

[@Baigle1]

@@isaacarthurSFIA You can also use high voltages to charge the leading edge of aerofoils positively or negatively, while hiding an oppositely charged plate under the trailing edge of the top wing surface, in order to keep the boundary layer air stuck to the lifting body without separating. It is similar to vortex generators, but has less drag, and can work on longer chords, like some military flying wing designs to lower stall speed. Some companies like Plasma Stream, have products you can put on semi-trucks to help optimize turbulent areas of airflow which cause induced drag and pressure drag. Using it as propulsion, by ionizing some of the particles in the air and attracting it rearwards is generally not efficient due to energy dissipation and breakdown potentials.

[@nick-hu1nx]

2 years ahead of his time, good futurism that.

[@its_dc_]

here after LK-99

[@Dina_tankar_mina_ord]

Hey Arthur 2 years in the future. Scientist just claimed they had achieved room temperature conductors 27c. And so far things seem to checkout. gonna watch this now.

[@calicoesblue4703]

Nope 👎

[@marcowen1506]

Just a slight clarification for the other viewers: a superconductor does not need to have current flowing through it to produce a magnetic field. In the presence of another magnet, the superconductor produces an (almost) equal and opposite field (Meissner effect). The Meissner effect is the origin of the levitation so often demonstrated in videos.

[@merlin9657]

Doesn't the other magnet induce a current in the superconducter that then produces the opposite field? Still, no current needs to be supplied externally.

[@marcowen1506]

@AreUKiddingMeTV Oh, this get's complicated rather quickly. In reverse order, there are several different types of SC and one of them (Type II SCs) will allow the field to pass through it in little channels if you really force it close to the magnet, but in doing so, the SC gets pinned above the magnet. The field does get excluded, but this isn't the same as, saying water is excluded from a waterproof coat. The outside magnetic field causes electrons in the SC to circulate and produce a magnetic field of the same strength but in the opposite direction. The two fields add up to a field of zero inside the SC - they cancel out. As is typical of physics, saying that something is zero isn't the same as the as saying it isn't there. Note that *both* the pinning and the repulsion can happen at the same time. As for the mobius strip, I would guess that they used a Type II, as they are easier to come by, or a Type I and pushed it horizontally really hard to let "centrifugal force" keep it on track. Actually, the first one is the most probable. PS, please do not call us eggheads. We don't like it, and it's factually incorrect as my head is the normal shape for a human.🙂

[@sulljoh1]

This isn't looking so futuristic these days

[@aimfail]

Lk-99, 🎉

[@kevo9352]

Haven’t seen this video yet but today seems like a good time to

[@Thunderbr3wn]

I truly hope we someday get to live in these incredible potential futures you map out for us.

[@shannonlove4328]

We live in an incredible future right now. I’m 55 and compared to the technology of my childhood, we live in age of miracles.

[@unintentionallydramatic]

I hope I'll be able to celebrate IA's 250th birthday with him in earth orbit one day.

[@justarandomname420]

Its called Warhammer 40k. Noone wants to live there.

[@unintentionallydramatic]

@@justarandomname420 ...wot.

[@Dragrath1]

I hate to be a killjoy but with regards to Room Temperature Superconductors we are far away as the record holder from 2019 Lanthanum decahydride may have a transition temperature of 250K but unfortunately that is only at 150 GPa Issac kinda dropped the ball there with false hope there are interesting superconductors which might see practical use but that is probably not one of them. On the other hand if we can just get space based manufacturing there is so much we could accomplish. Though Nothing compared to what evidence based policies with independent oversight would accomplish on Earth since the reason we can't have nice things comes mostly down to a cocktail of corruption, inefficient and wasteful methods, bureaucracy, half done efforts, cognitive biases and gross incompetence/laziness. I think this is the reason so many technologies remain in the experimental phase because they aren't yet "idiot proof". >_< Sorry about my pessimism but While there are things to be hopeful for I think we need to acknowledge the challenges as well

[@Datdus92]

BROS WE'RE SO BACK!

[@maomaomaimaimao]

WERE BARRACK

[@LordBitememan]

I've watched them all Isaac. Though I wasn't around for the first, I have been watching for years.

[@elkadillo4511]

LK-99 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@danielbresnahan753]

Welcome to the future :)

[@Datdus92]

Flying cars were only 24 years later than expected!

[@sorrow_Sam]

11:12 is when he actually starts talking about what to use them for

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

cheers bud

[@calicoesblue4703]

Thanks

[@TheCiroth]

I went back and watched 99% of the channel as I worked on a novel. A lot of the science that Isaac talked about shaped the world as to what they could and couldn't do. Long term sleeper ship, O'Neil cylinders, hydroponics, and many others that I tapped into formed the base to make it sound real. Thank you for all the hard work you and your team have put into it.

[@aaronmcdaniel7768]

I've been watching since early 2018. I'm pretty sure I've seen everything except for the live sessions. I definitely remember when you used to have to warn people about your speech impediment using Elmer Fudd and how impressed I was that you overcame that issue so completely. I've had an awesome time on this channel and I look forward to the new content. Keep it up, Isaac!

[@ivoryas1696]

Aaron Mcdaniel Wholesome af 🥰

[@donaldhobson8873]

Where did that 50% of electricity lost in transmission number come from? This source puts it at 6 to 10 % insideenergy.org/2015/11/06/lost-in-transmission-how-much-electricity-disappears-between-a-power-plant-and-your-plug/ (In the USA grid)

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

Yeah, it does seem incredibly High to me. If that was the case you would think power lines would be catching on fire all the time.

[@Sigma00000]

You beat me to this. Good for you for calling out misinformation. I'm going to throw in a few lessons from my electrical engineering classes here to explain why loses are so low. Because it takes engineering to get the losses that low. Transformers (you've probably seen them as those big bulky things on power line poles with what kind of looks like two stubby antennas (they aren't antennas btw)) are a great way to reduce wasted energy. From a linear element perspective (meaning this is a bit of a simplification), transformers change the apparent resistance. Increasing the voltage drops the apparent resistance. Stepping the voltage back down increases the resistance again. This is why they up the voltage leaving power plants and then step it back down closer to residential centers, so your appliances actually use the electricity. Modern transformers can be 95% to 98.5% efficient. However resistance isn't the only thing that saps power. You lose power in power lines primarily to two reasons: resistance and inductance. Super conductors removes almost all resistance (I think they still have something like 1e-35 ohms of resistance, double check that though). Inductance refers to the creation of magnetic fields from running current. With direct current (DC) like current from typical batteries, the current flows consistently. It will just build up a small magnetic field (e.g., wrap a wire around a nail to build an electric magnet), and stop losing more energy to the magnetic field once it has built up. However alternating current (AC), which is used in most power grids, causes the current to change direction. Because it constantly changes direction, the magnetic fields constantly changes direction, leaking power constantly. This isn't a lot of wasted power, but it adds up over long distances. To reduce energy lost to inductance, European cross-country power grids have been adopting high voltage DC power transmission lines. Please forgive me if I get any of the details wrong I'm not a European. This is a little more complicated as you cannot scale voltage using transformers on DC power directly. But it basically works by generating power either as AC or converting it to AC -> use a transformer to up it's voltage (reduce apparent resistance of down stream elements) -> convert to DC (using e.g., a rectifier, diodes, and capacitors) -> transmit long distances -> convert back to AC (with what is called a power inverter) -> transform the voltage back down (so appliances can use the power) -> deliver to your home/work/school/etc. Most of the losses in efficiency are from all of these conversations, not transmission anymore. Edit: added the name of the element that changes DC power to AC power. Included a few other details.

[@richardbloemenkamp8532]

The number would be quite high if you would wanted to transport electricity between continents e.g. from places near the equator (solar energy) to place further from the equator where most people live. Your numbers are lower because in the US the energy companies try to avoid long-distance transportation at the cost of less-ideal energy generation.

[@Fleurlean4]

Michael V A more condensed version of this would reach more people. Presentation skills matter (especially for engineers).

[@nilskrumnack8699]

Or also the EIA directly: www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=105&t=3

[@kcflick6132]

Issaic arther: releases this video Scientists 1 month later: hold my beer

[@vladimirlenin843]

This month scientists discover a superconductor that could work at 15 degree Celsius. But the material need to be under 15 mil psi of pressure

[@loljewlol]

That still an amazing achievement, comrade, that the ability to produce a superconductor above c it itself significantly impressive. Hopefully we discover a material that doesn't need such a high pressure.

[@feryth]

Time to review this episode once more

[@maxattacks25]

It is very easy to become jaded/cynical when bombarded by the negative news stream, but these always make me feel a bit more hopeful for our future.

[@TheExoplanetsChannel]

Congrats for reaching 250 episodes. 20:16 looking forward to our collaboration ! I hope perseverance finds alien life soon.

[@benbaselet2026]

Is it alien life though, if we happen to be related?

[@avanconia]

Sorry dude but we will always be on the cusp of finding life for the rest of our lives and it will not happen.

[@benbaselet2026]

@@avanconia You have a reason for that claim or you just like pessimism?

[@avanconia]

@@benbaselet2026 The fact that we won't find it is just as interesting as finding it could be. I won't insult anybody by qualifying basic math.

[@wackywonka1611]

@@benbaselet2026 watch the fermi paradox vids hes not saying there are no aliens just that we probably wont encounter much more than bacteria

[@ptuls79]

"... no resistance to the widespread adoption of superconductors" I see what you did there

[@vikiai4241]

Terrible terrible terrible pun! Love it!

[@budders9958]

@@Sega22245 No because super conductors have R = 0.

[@LakeAndBake]

He actually said "no wesistance to the widespwead adoption of superconductows"

[@LakeAndBake]

@@Sega22245 shit I accidentally left that hard R in

[@darryljones3009]

Resistance is futile.

[@zubiddydoodoopop]

Now that LK99 is a thing and seems to mostly function at 70 degrees Fahrenheit as a superconductor, are you convinced we finally have a material that can potentially help produce super constructions as mentioned in this video or would we need just a little more thermal wiggle room to achieve the best results?

[@WokeandProud]

No because ot has the material property of a brick you can't make wires out of it no flying trains or cars sorry.

[@petrkinkal1509]

And combine what WokeandProud said with the fact it also isn't superconducting.

[@Ryukachoo]

Rewatching this vid amid the LK99 hype

[@dani-uf1eo]

You always make it sound like we are one breakthrough away from interstellar travel and I love it. I hope it happens in my lifetime.

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

:) Probably not 1, though it would depend on what the 1 was, but I do think we're close to the needed tipping point that will make space travel vastly easier

[@dansmith1661]

We would have, but certain groups of people won't allow us to have any fun.

[@rojaws1183]

If we have a breakthrough in life extension you may live for centuries and perhaps even long enough to see interstellar travel.

[@akcolade]

Ro Jaws any breakthroughs will be fairly expensive at first

[@chrisschembari2486]

@@isaacarthurSFIA YT brought me here after watching this video about a superconductor breakthrough. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oX6ae2hshN10bNk As to the cost of cooling long-distance superconductive transmission lines, I read (in an old book about electric vehicles) that lots of air gets liquefied to extract from it oxygen, some of the nitrogen, and other valuable gases, but then most of the nitrogen just gets released back into the air because there's no market for it. That's a waste of a lot of electric compressor power, which might be better used if we had a continuous demand for LN to keep the power lines' chilling sleeves topped off. Because of course, it's not enough to just have SC lines, we also have to ideally replace thousands of miles of unsightly tower-lofted lines with underground lines. I mean, what if an overhead power line cooling sleeve sprung a leak, and Bambi and Thumper happened to be frolicking about under that line? 😄

[@hherpdderp]

The algo knows

[@DaManBearPig]

Issac, you’re the best. Thank you. Thank you for giving me hope for the future. Your community loves you. You deserve it.

[@Fearmylogic]

I would love to see ION drives equipped with super conductors? Imagine, being able to shoot gas out of an engine, and the speed at which you are firing that gas, is only limited to how much energy you can collect. With large enough solar panels and batteries, you could throw fairly heavy atoms of Argon/Xenon at speeds nearing the speed of light. At those kinds of energies, single atoms of gas would produce levels of thrusts that could be measured. A fairly small amount of gas would let you get to some amazing speeds! Imagine firing an Ion drive space ship from a rail launcher, then part way through, the drive is turned on, slowing it down, so it can reach a planet, moon, or asteroid. It would save on gas, it woulds save on the time needed to speed up the ship up to cursing speed, we could charge the batteries before the launch, and just use the gas for slowing down, or Slowing down, and a return flight back to base! The possibilities!

[@serpentphoenix]

If you have superconductors you can also probably do fusion rockets instead of ion drives.

[@Azilythe]

Pretty sure those are the fusion powered ion drives in the show Expanse

[@Niskirin]

@@Azilythe Along with a bit of handwavium magic.

[@TruAnRksT]

Ya can never go faster than the shit you're spewing lad. If that's near light speed that's all shes got. Might take many years to get up to speed though. Not enough pushin in the cushion. Such things will never get us there.

[@darkstorminc]

I would rather have a working warp drive lol

[@pescaoconchocolate]

Go LK-99

[@johnrockwell5834]

The ultimate goal of all technology is Beauty,Truth and Goodness.

[@TruAnRksT]

Spoken like a true Rockwell. Don't know what that would be like but good comment.

[@johnrockwell5834]

@@TruAnRksT Renaissance architecture for one.

[@TCBYEAHCUZ]

LK-99!!!!

[@Etheoma]

Room temp super conductors = fusion Like seriously fusion reaction rate goes up linearly with temperature and area of the inner reactor, by increases by the power of 4 of the magnetic field strength so double the field strength. Double your field strength and you get 16 times the power, and room temperature super conductors means you can pump a lot of power into them before you lose super conductivity.

[@jasonsmith2497]

@Issac Arthur - they just announced a room temp (15C) SC! Maybe that'll make a good follow up episode to this one :)

[@LucasDimoveo]

Anyone here after the announcement of room temperature super conductors from the University of Rochester?

[@Rafael96xD]

We need to wait... just a bit more...

[@aleksandarrudic3694]

You greatly overestimated power losses in the transmission, they are nowhere near 50% even in the wildest dream, they are more like 1-2% total, of which the losses in the long-distance power lines are a small factor, in total probably no more than 0.5%. For all practical purposes, long-distance power lines are already very close to superconducting due to the extremely high voltage. The benefit of using a superconducting long-distance power line instead of currently used steel-aluminum wires could only be that the superconducting lines could operate at low voltage, eliminating the need for transformers in the transmission grid. However, transformers in the grid would still be needed because various power sources generate their output at a different voltage level, typically much higher than the one you would like in your home (e.g. 20 - 30 kV for a typical synchronous generator in a thermal powerplant), not to mention other functions of transformers (balancing power input-output, smoothing out voltage, preventing surges, etc.).

[@demoniack81]

Yeah, half is *wildly* overestimated. The loss factor in the European power grid is somewhere around 5% (it varies by a couple percent for each country). The world average is 10%, India is at 20 and the only countries who reach 50% are Iraq, Haiti, Benin, Lybia and Togo. These losses by the way also include stolen power, since it's impossible to differentiate it from power lost as heat. In general the only countries who have problems with power grid inefficiencies are poor countries who can't maintain the grid to an acceptable level. It's unlikely they'd be able to afford superconducting wires either.

[@anthonylaviale3021]

I agree with all that. I would just like to add that most losses happen in the last km, between your home and the closest transformer, as it's where the voltage is lowest. It also explains why the US with 110V has worse (a few percents) grid efficiency than Europe with 220 to 240V.

[@aleksandarrudic3694]

@@anthonylaviale3021 Yes, totally agree. That's where I draw my initial 1-2% estimate for the transmission grid from (by transmission I from the powerplant, through the 400 kV lines (typical level in Europe), to the major transformers near cities, where the distribution grid starts). Out of that, losses in transformers that ramp up the voltage from 20-30 kV at the powerplant to the 400 kV transmission level and the one lowering the voltage from 400 kV to the distribution level (which is 10 or 6 kV in Europe, possible with intermediate levels, 110 kV for example) are typically substantially higher than the losses in 400 kV lines themselves (I don't know exactly but it may be something like 3:1 or 2:1). All in one, those 400 kV lines are quite efficient. The reason why we don't use them to interconnect the whole world in a single grid has much more to do with politics and regulation than it has to do with grid inefficiencies and/or other technical issues.

[@anthonylaviale3021]

@@aleksandarrudic3694 The limits on the size of the grid have more to do with phase. The wavelength at 50Hz is about 6000km. When your power plants are separated by thousands of km, it gets increasingly difficult to manage the phase difference.

[@anthonylaviale3021]

@@aleksandarrudic3694 I spoke too fast. Apparently synchronization isn't such a big problem, even though I couldn't find a clear explanation of how it's done. Most of the EU, plus Turkey and North Africa are already synchronized. There are also a number of plans to seriously increase North South connectivity, which would be particularly useful for wind energy (seasonal wind patterns complement each other). I hope we manage to get this done.

[@coloredfox3463]

Please let LK99 be applicable...

[@ghydra2732]

Damnnnn, watching this again after LK-99

[@anikbiswas4447]

Me too.

[@TheAMadMan]

We all know the first thing you do is get comms up, but you forgot to mention the coolest property of superconductors imho. A short superconducting antenna acts like a much longer one. I'm talking a mater acts like kilometers. They are currently used on submarines for low frequency communications.

[@TheAMadMan]

@BBB H this seemed like a decent intro to me: ecjones.org/hightc.html

[@glowerworm]

I really like your voice, it such a nice, natural-feeling narration voice.

[@glowerworm]

@@AloysiusOHare-fk4yq are you on drugs?

[@LiteStranger]

@@glowerworm Isaac speaks like that, listen closely 💀

[@SmoochyRoo]

Oh how relevant this video is currently, algorithm knows what's up.😊

[@venmis137]

I'm in a physics lesson right now and we've been tasked with researching superconductors... guess this counts :)

[@lindenmorgan2941]

Can we get a follow up video on LK-99?

[@Bob-lr2xp]

Isaac, I want to ask for your advice. I'm in my 30s working a job that's unfulfilling but pays well enough to support my family. But all my life I never knew what I wanted to do as a career. But watching your videos over the last few months is making me yearn for a future where humanity can operate in space, and I wish we didn't stop the progress we made during the space race as we could've had decades worth of technological advancement compared to today. I want to help put humanity on the moon, having industry, mining, and manufacturing outside of Earth. How can I help make that happen? What should I go back to school for, and what line of work can go towards such a goal outside of working for Space X? Physics, engineering?

[@VainerCactus0]

Put as much money aside as possible and google what kind of maths you would need to learn, then start teaching yourself that maths in your spare time. After a year, you'll have tons stashed away and know most of the maths already.

[@petert969]

No need to go back to school! Spacex doesn't worry about degrees, they care about competency!

[@th3ranger]

How about learning about economics, it is the real limiting factor for industrializing space. If an activity isn’t profitable it won’t persist for long periods of time.

[@Rattus-Norvegicus]

I say that you should spend your extra time/money/energy/etc. with your family. It may be too late for you but it definitely isn't too late for your children.

[@clavo3352]

This needs to be explained to kids in the 4th grade if we are to ever master this technology. Explaining it to today's educated that can appreciate the ramifications is futile. Too much commercial value for it to ever be practicably realized. Yet that's what is great about the internet. I started flipping through our encyclopedias randomly in the 60s. That was my internet. Kids can get online now and just go for it!

[@failedleopard3685]

Congratulations on reaching 250 weekly episodes! I've always liked the thumbnails you used for the episodes, any plans on making some of them or make new ones solemnly for merch?

[@elijahpaisley6792]

Issac this question admittedly isn't about superconductors but about the fermi paradox is it possible that the reason why we haven't discovered intelligent alien life is because we are simply to primitive to pick up on what would be to them telltale signs for life? For example an ant or a gorilla looking up at a building wouldn't know exactly what it was looking at, it could know that something is out of place but wouldn't know that it is the product of intelligent life is this a feasible solution to the fermi paradox?

[@AuxenceF]

Remember son, with great power come great curent squared time resistance

[@stardolphin2]

And of course, where superconductors are concerned, resistance is...futile.

[@Eastmarch2]

Ohm never forgot his dying uncle’s words.

[@DylanGifford-l9o]

Watching so I can convince my boss to let us try

[@lst1nwndrlnd]

No resistance to liking⚡

[@Max_Ohm]

Word.

[@Enourmousletters]

I dunno, it gets me pretty hot

[@urekmazino2086]

If LK-99 were real, it would mean anything still, since its not a metal, it looks ceramic. Although its a good start

[@ns2358]

"There should be NO RESISTANCE..." I love you, Arthur!! :D

[@halo3soap114]

Really interesting going back and watching this after the LK-99 paper came out.

[@randomman5188]

Its been replicated and confirmed by multiple labs

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

gratz on 250! With that you guys crushed past 250 likes fast too.

[@Buffaloguy1991]

We're back baby!!

[@tvcomputer1321]

i just want to say Isaac that in these bullsh*t times we find ourselves today, your futurism videos give me hope and inspiration

[@monjier]

I'm from New Zealand. COVID-19 doesn't exist here. It only exists at the border for us.

[@tvcomputer1321]

@@monjier I mean sure NZ is nice, but seriously enjoy your prison

[@monjier]

@@tvcomputer1321 😂 what prison? I can go wherever I want freely 😂 without any level of fear 😂 seriously, COVID-19 is like a past time for us. It's actually funny when we hear the numbers the other countries are putting out 😂

[@tvcomputer1321]

@@monjier can you leave NZ?

[@monjier]

@@tvcomputer1321 well, I never planned on leaving at all. Not this year. So I never bothered looking into it. There were people who left to go to South Korea, and people can fly into NZ, so I don't see why we couldn't leave. In fact, our airport was one of the busiest airports in the world during June.

[@feralcrafter7043]

Well, you are the best and bring'n this information to us, and my fellow brains (smart contacts) love it. Although, you just drop a broad amount of information in our lap, and it's really hard to apply it to life or projects.

[@spyro1159]

There was a recent paper discussing an alternative Kardashev Scale. It measured advanced civilizations in regards to there adaptability. Here is the the paper: arxiv.org/pdf/2005.13221.pdf I think you should make a video about this if you haven’t already. I think it’s super interesting.

[@clarencechurch4006]

that is pretty interesting, though at some point (unless they can dimension hop) they probably would start building a Dyson swarm, after all if they don't then their wasting a lot of potential energy and material's