Context:
South Korean scientists named LK-99 to a material that is recently reported as a superconductor at room temperature and pressure.
About LK-99:
- Base Material involved – Lead Apatite
- Apatites are phosphate minerals where one phosphorus atom is surrounded by 4 oxygen atoms.
- Process of Substitution – Copper-substituted lead appetite[Lead atoms are replaced with 10% Copper]
- This material exhibited and maintained superconductivity in the presence of an external magnetic field, up to a certain critical threshold.
- Significance –
- Increased energy efficiency
- Reduced power losses
- Development of revolutionary of electrical conductivity technologies
A mineral called hydroxyapatite contributes to the strength of tooth enamel and the bones of living organisms.
About Superconductors:
- Materials that exhibit zero electrical resistance when cooled to extremely low temperatures.
- Conducts electricity with no loss of energy.
- Discovery: Mercury (a liquid metal) becomes a superconductor at –268 degrees Celsius.
- Applications – Energy Transmission, MRI, Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerators, Maglev Trains, Quantum Computing etc.
- Examples – Lanthanum-Barium-Copper Oxide, Yttrium-Barium-Copper Oxide etc.
- 4 Changes in a Superconducting State –
- Electronic effect
- Magnetic effect: Meissner effect & Flux pinning
- Thermodynamic effect
- Spectroscopic effect
The specific heat is the heat required to increase the temperature of the electrons in the material by 1 degree Celsius.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
If there were no phenomenon of capillarity
- It would be difficult to use a kerosene lamp
- One would not be able to use a straw to consume a soft drink
- The blotting paper would paper would fail to function
- The big trees that we see around would not have grown on the earth
Which of the following statements given above are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2012 Prelims]
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
