Superconductive sulfides - new avenue of supermaterial

[PB666]

http://www.nature.com/news/superconductivity-record-sparks-wave-of-follow-up-physics-1.18191?WT.ec_id=NEWSDAILY-20150818&spMailingID=49346984&spUserID=NzAwMTE5NDIwNDAS1&spJobID=742835091&spReportId=NzQyODM1MDkxS0

[Elthy]

Another thread of you with just a link? How about writing a summary and something like an opinion to spark a discussion?

[Dodgey]

Ok yeah this is kinda getting annoying. If you are simply going to be posting links how about making a mega thread.

[PB666]

Another thread of you with just a link? How about writing a summary and something like an opinion to spark a discussion?

[rtxoff]

Not yet, it needs a catastrophe of an epic proportion to get people to start thinking of the future of Earth and humankind. However at that point it will be too late for us.

[AngelLestat]

This superconductor needs extreme pressures, it is a lot easier to reach almost absolute zero than those pressures. So not sure about the utility of this finding (besides as extra evidence to create a new theory of superconductivity)

[PB666]

This superconductor needs extreme pressures, it is a lot easier to reach almost absolute zero than those pressures. So not sure about the utility of this finding (besides as extra evidence to create a new theory of superconductivity)

So Sulfides are not just one entity, a sulfide can be methyl-sulfide, benzyl-sulfide or any long list of alcohols or heterocyclic compounds that contain a sulfur instead of an alcohol. It was not difficult to make a critique and get an answer. Sulfides can also be part of graphene, for example benzyl-sulfide is an example of an aromatically stabilized sulfur. I don't know if you have studied superconductors, but the early breakthroughs at the University of Houston of complex metal superconductors led to many publications in derivatives that were either cheaper or worked better, Some of these superconductors are currently being used in physics technology and other high technology applications.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Sc_history.gif

Thus the covelant linkage of graphene to sulfide on its peripheral carbons might turn the combo into a better superconductor, or allow it to work at a higher temperature, In space, particularly deep space, its not difficult if you are traveling at the speed of the solar wind to cool things down to ultralow temperatures. Provide that the equipment you use is super efficient. We could envision Ion drives that work with better transformers, propel mass faster, more efficiently and are isolated from heat sources from their loads. Ultimately the goal of high payload space flight is to get the weight down and increase the energy efficiency of the thruster as well as increasing its ISP. Superconductors work to do both, but at the cost of added weight.

So if you missed the graphene thread, the beauty of graphene is that are atomic thickness sheets that can be stacked, sulfides cannot, but if you add a sulfur to graphene carbon, the d2 electrons slightly increase the diameter of the atom but only slightly, which could be trivial if one adds a atomic thickness layer of insulator between sheets. Being an organic chemist by training, I can see really great potential in graphene if some of the forum stated problems are overcome. So there is at least some potential of this in power transformers and electromagnetics. Sulfur is heavy, but its weight relative to graphene, it can have 3C:1S versus 3C:1H and the mininum width of graphene. This would roughly mean a 25% increase in the density of graphene, but its still far-far lower then any superconductor out there that can actually form cable in an easy sense.

The question is that if you could increase the critical temperature at the trade-off of density how much would that be worth to doing all kinds of things in space? For someone interested in far IR telescope science and the like it is an important space question.

Edited September 17, 2015 by PB666