A room-temperature superconductor? New developments

Post by whimsicalism » Tue, Aug 01, 2023, 9:17 PM UTC

ajuc wrote: post #375

Dalewyn wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Japanese and South Korean increasing technical prowess didn't, why would Chinese be any different? Because while Japan and South Korea are the 51st and 52nd US states, China is a superpower vying to usurp the US as the preeminent world superpower.

That just means China has it harder and is more likely to fail. Access to global markets is a critical factor in growth of Japan, South Korea and China. USA controls that.

Post by vagab0nd » Tue, Aug 01, 2023, 9:18 PM UTC

fsh wrote: post #516

jtchang wrote: post #418

The ramifications of the inflection point we are currently at is mind boggling. I had a hard time explaining this last night but we may very well be witnessing the beginnings of a technological transformation era much like when the p-n junction was invented. From the 1940s standpoint it would be hard to envision all we had today. - Lossless transport of energy - Batteries that don't take any time to recharge - Faster…

None of the things you listed are limited by the conductors in them. The efficiency of high voltage AC power lines is limited by capacitive coupling to ground. Battery charging is limited by the cell chemistry. CPU heat output is limited by the resistance of the semiconductors. Turns out metals (in particular copper) are already incredibly good conductors.

Post by whimsicalism » Tue, Aug 01, 2023, 9:21 PM UTC

ajuc wrote: post #366

whimsicalism wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's seriously underachieving not only compared to US, but even compared to the rest of the developed world. This statement would have been viewed as absolutely obvious and ridiculous 2 decades ago. The fact that it even needs to be said now is indicating how fast they are advancing.

They were underachieving for 2 centuries, ceasing to kill their own citizens by millions and imprisoning anybody who tried to think for themselves is enough to grow if you did so for a long time. But it does not make you a new hegemon. I highly doubt they can preserve their pace of growth for next few decades without significant changes to the regime and liberalization. Once they return to the mean - they will very l…

Post by jrockway » Tue, Aug 01, 2023, 9:23 PM UTC

vagab0nd wrote: post #533

fsh wrote: post #516

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of the things you listed are limited by the conductors in them. The efficiency of high voltage AC power lines is limited by capacitive coupling to ground. Battery charging is limited by the cell chemistry. CPU heat output is limited by the resistance of the semiconductors. Turns out metals (in particular copper) are already incredibly good conductors.

> Battery charging is limited by the cell chemistry. Yes, but superconductors don't have that limitation, do they? You just dump current into them.

Post by nvader » Tue, Aug 01, 2023, 9:26 PM UTC

mettamage wrote: post #512

kleer001 wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can I have my flying car now? I ditto the sentiment. But we don't want literal flying cars. Well, self driven flying cars. Humans have enough problems when they're driving on the ground on ground made for driving.

I wonder if self flying cars are easier to make since every object in the air is an obstacle. This is less the true for ground transport since sometimes it may seem like an obstacle but it isn't (e.g. just a marking on the road).