News Physics

Superconductor research surges forward despite controversy over stunning claims

Physicists are still looking for practical materials that conduct electricity without resistance

A diamond anvil crunches a material viewed through a microscope.

Physicists use diamond anvils (one shown) to crush materials at high pressure in hopes of creating new superconductors.

J. Adam Fenster/University of Rochester

By Emily Conover

With his bold claims of revolutionary room-temperature superconductors, physicist Ranga Dias of the University of Rochester in New York propelled the field of high-pressure physics into the spotlight.

Now, after two paper retractions and plagiarism allegations, there’s a haze of suspicion around Dias, and some physicists are worried that outsiders might suspect that the entire field is in disarray.