Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 363 posts

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#161

Post by svara »

anonylizard wrote: post #112
DoingIsLearning wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first pre-print came out on 22 July (if I am not mistaken). Not enough time has passed pure and simple. If I was an academic working on this, I would be following the Sagan Standard and triple checking my results before claiming anything. I think we are all suffering from 24 hour news cycles. The work in China and now Varda is very exciting but they are warp speed developments.

This is simply what post-peer-review looks like. Instead of a few anonymous peer reviews, you get the entire planet to replicate. Moment you get something meaningful, publish it on arxiv. Quantity, not quality is king. Anomalies are drowned out by large samples. Questionable methods get mass debated in public. Scientists are dependent on public funding, why squander the biggest moment in pop science for literal decad…

> Questionable methods get mass debated in public.

By people who don't know what they're talking about.

You're seriously underestimating the level of expertise that it takes to professionally assess most research. It wouldn't be unusual for there to be a small handful of people with that ability in the world.

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#162

Post by refulgentis »

ssabev wrote: post #153
xvector wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why she would be like this. Why would anyone hold back the production process for a material that could change humanity forever?

Lots of bizarre pro-Soviet behaviour from her as well which feels somehow connected

She's _literally_ Russian, not ironically. So not so bizarre.

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#164

Post by lumost »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #60
sashank_1509 wrote: post #40

This makes me extremely bullish about Varda Space, they have engineers of high quality and expertise that they could do a decent replication very quickly (if they got access to raw materials earlier, they might have been first to do so, comparable with the Chinese Groups) while working on their off time (from what I’ve seen of their twitter) and not a single big academic lab has managed to complete any sort of replic…

The first pre-print came out on 22 July (if I am not mistaken). Not enough time has passed pure and simple. If I was an academic working on this, I would be following the Sagan Standard and triple checking my results before claiming anything. I think we are all suffering from 24 hour news cycles. The work in China and now Varda is very exciting but they are warp speed developments.

Speed is correlated with execution quality. All else being equal, A lab which is better equipped - with better access to materials, and motivated and competent researchers will deliver before the equivalent lab which is deficient in any of the above.

A twitter post isn't peer review, but it is a nice way of sharing part of the process. A video etc. will help others in their attempts to replicate.

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#165

Post by titzer »

I, for one, am not impressed by his Twitter thread. It looks very sloppy, and I am completely disregarding videos of floating flakes of gray whatever-the-heck. They look like they have none of the equipment to properly test what material they created or what its properties are. It doesn't inspire confidence, it's just more damn attention-seeking. Stick to rockets or whatever.

That said, the fact that LK-99 has not been instantly debunked makes me somewhat hopeful that even ridiculously sloppy attempts like this did manage to create a bit of the crystal lattice that makes this material unique, and that, if indeed it does have superconducting properties, the manufacturing process won't be hard.

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#166

Post by userbinator »

ssijak wrote: post #12
gabesullice wrote: post #2

Nitter: https://nitter.net/andrewmccalip/status/1687405505604734978#...

pardon my ignorance but why are people posting nitter links every time, what is wrong with original twitter urls?

Loads very quickly and viewable without any JS.

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#167

Post by thepasswordis »

huijzer wrote: post #49
sashank_1509 wrote: post #40

This makes me extremely bullish about Varda Space, they have engineers of high quality and expertise that they could do a decent replication very quickly (if they got access to raw materials earlier, they might have been first to do so, comparable with the Chinese Groups) while working on their off time (from what I’ve seen of their twitter) and not a single big academic lab has managed to complete any sort of replic…

> not a single big academic lab has managed to complete any sort of replication to date! They are still busy getting approvals from three layers of management and one group of lawyers.

Don’t forget the DEA.

The reason the Varda team even took this long is because they couldn’t get red phosphorus.

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#168

Post by mtillman »

iamshs wrote: post #105
sanxiyn wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

World first replication was done by Iris Alexandra using her own accelerated process and there is no way Varda Space could have beaten her.

Her rock actually floats. Did it all in the kitchen too. She should rightly be credited as first one.

They use a magnet for movement. “When the magnet is placed parallel and flat to the bottom of the beaker, the sample stands at a 90deg angle to the field.”

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#169

Post by willis936 »

bglazer wrote: post #146
huijzer wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, exactly. And getting approvals from three layers of management. You know, science. I'm pushing back against academia because I think the system is pretty much a mess. Academics believe that we got all the nice technological innovation because of academia. I think it is despite academia. Most money going there is just wasted on writing not what you think is right but what you think will be published, waiting for…

I’m in an academic lab right now. I have never once had to get approval from three levels of management to do any experiment, nor have I ever heard of anyone having to do that. I’m not even sure who would be three levels of “management” above me.

Indeed. I've worked at two academic labs and one startup. The talent density at the startup is higher, but the academic labs were far scrappier and resourceful with limited resources. Venture capital makes people fat and lazy. They forget what it's like to operate on fumes.

Re: Andrew McCalip demonstrates synthesis of LK99

#170

Post by thepasswordis »

dm_me_dogs wrote: post #92
gabesullice wrote: post #2

Nitter: https://nitter.net/andrewmccalip/status/1687405505604734978#...

My online life has been way less stressful since I both deleted my Twitter account, and set up my own Nitter instance. Same goes for Reddit.

This has to be the new version of:

“I don’t even own a TV!”

Post reply on HN