'Superconductor Controversy' LK-99 Research Team to Present at American Physical Society on the 4th

A domestic research team claiming to have developed the room-temperature and ambient-pressure superconductor ‘LK-99’ will unveil a new superconducting material at a U.S. conference on the 4th.

According to the American Physical Society (APS) on the 3rd, Kim Hyun-tak, a research professor at William & Mary University in the U.S. who was involved in the LK-99 research, along with researchers from the Quantum Energy Research Institute, will present research results on a material called 'PCPOSOS,' claimed to be a room-temperature and ambient-pressure superconductor, at the superconductivity session of the APS March meeting held in Minneapolis, U.S., at 8 a.m. local time on the 4th.

Announcement of the Development Process of Room Temperature and Ambient Pressure Superconductors
Photo by Yonhap News

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According to the abstract of the research paper to be presented, PCPOSOS is a material developed by adding sulfur (S) to the existing LK-99. The researchers claim that PCPOSOS exhibited superconducting properties such as zero resistance, the Meissner effect, and partial levitation over magnets.

The research team also claims that ‘magnetic flux pinning,’ where the levitation position shifts when the magnet is moved, is one of the superconducting properties, and they plan to release two related videos and two magnet videos. There had been speculation that the presentation might be canceled after the abstract was reportedly withdrawn at one point. Professor Kim explained to Yonhap News, "Someone impersonated me and sent an abstract cancellation email, but the conference was informed and the situation was normalized."

He added, "Since this presentation is an independent study, it can be regarded as a new paper," and "The presentation will be recorded and made available by the conference for six months, so anyone can watch it."

Previously, in July of last year, the research team uploaded research results claiming to have developed the room-temperature superconductor LK-99 on an online preprint site. The Korean Superconductivity and Cryogenics Society formed a verification committee to analyze reproduction experiment results but concluded in December of the same year that there was no evidence that this material was a room-temperature superconductor.

Subsequently, the Quantum Energy Research Institute developed PCPOSOS, a material with sulfur added to LK-99, and has been asserting that this material exhibits superconducting properties.

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