Superconductivity has been observed at temperatures up to 15 °C in a hydrogen-rich material under immense pressure – shattering the previous high-temperature record by about 35 degrees.
在極大壓力、高達15°C的高溫下，於一種富含氫的材料中，已經被觀察到超導性，這打破了之前的高溫記錄，達大約35度。
The carbonaceous sulphur hydride material was made and studied by Ranga Dias and colleagues at the University of Rochester and the University of Nevada Las Vegas in the US, who say that it may be possible to reduce the pressure required to achieve room-temperature superconductivity by changing the chemistry of the material.
這種含碳的硫化氫材料是由，Ranga Dias及美國羅徹斯特大學與內華達大學拉斯維加斯分校的同僚們，所製造及研究。他們表示，藉由改變這種材料的化學組成，或許可能降低達成室溫超導性所需的壓力。
Superconductors carry electrical current with no electrical resistance and have a range of applications from the high-field magnets used in MRI scanners and particle accelerators to the quantum bits used in quantum computers.
超導體能無電阻地傳導電流，因此具有從，使用於磁共振造影(MRI：Magnetic Resonance Imaging)掃描儀及粒子加速器中的高磁場磁體，到量子計算機中使用之量子位元的諸多應用。
Today, practical devices based on superconductors must be chilled to very cold temperatures, which is costly and can involve the use of helium – which is a limited natural resource. Therefore, a long-standing goal of condensed-matter physicists has been to develop a material that is a superconductor at room temperature.
當前，以超導體為基礎的實際裝置必需冷卻到，成本昂貴且會涉及使用氦氣(這是一種有限的天然資源)的極冷溫度。因此，凝聚態物理學家們長久以來的目標，一直是研發一種，於室溫是超導體的材料。
In 2015 Mikhail Eremets and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, both in Germany, made a huge breakthrough when they observed superconductivity at 203 K (–70 °C) in a sample of hydrogen sulphide at about 1.5 million times atmospheric pressure.
在2015年，Mikhail Eremets與德國馬克斯普朗克化學研究所及德國美因茲約翰尼斯谷騰堡大學的同僚們，當他們在大約150萬倍大氣壓下，203 K(絕對溫度) (也就是負70 °C)的硫化氫樣本中，觀察到超導性時，獲得了一項巨大突破。
This new record was a huge leap forward in the quest for a room-temperature superconductor and reinforced theoretical predictions that hydrogen-rich materials could offer a way forward. Indeed, the metallic state of hydrogen – which is expected to occur at extremely high pressures and has yet to be fully characterized – is expected to be a superconductor at room temperature.
在尋求室溫超導體及增強富含氫之材料，能提供一條往前邁進之道路的理論預測上，此新記錄是往前的一巨大躍進。的確，被預期會在極高壓力下，發生而尚未完全被描繪出特性之氫具金屬特性的狀態，被預期在室溫下會是一種超導體。
In early 2019 Eremets’ team and a group led by Russell Hemley at George Washington University in the US reported superconductivity at temperatures up to about –20 °C – a typical winter temperature across vast swathes of Russia and Canada.
在2019年初，Eremets的團隊，與一支由美國喬治華盛頓大學Russell Hemley領導的團隊報告了，在高達大約負20 °C之溫度時的超導性。這是俄羅斯及加拿大大片地區的典型冬季溫度。
Now Dias and colleagues have boosted this temperature to 15 °C, which coincidentally is the average surface temperature of the Earth. They did this by adding carbon to hydrogen sulphide – which was done by mixing methane and hydrogen sulphide together in a photochemical process.
目前，Dias及同僚們已經提高此溫度到15°C，這恰好是地球的平均表面溫度。他們藉由，將碳添加到硫化氫中，達成上述溫度。這是在一種光化學過程中，藉由混合甲烷與硫化氫完成的。
Dias told Physics World that part of his team’s success can be attributed to the precision of their synthesis technique, which is done at relatively low pressure.
Dias告訴Physics World，其團隊的成功，部分能被歸因於，他們在相對低之壓力下，進行的精確合成技術。
“[The photochemical process] is critical in introducing methane and hydrogen sulphide into the starting material, that allows just the ‘right’ amount of hydrogen needed for such remarkable properties,” he explains.
他解釋：「在將甲烷及硫化氫導入此起始材料上，上述光化學過程是至關重要的。就此類出色的屬性而言，那僅容許所需氫的‘最適宜’數量。」
The team placed their samples in the jaws of a diamond anvil and squeezed them to pressures between about 1.4 and 2.7 million atmospheres. They found a sharp upturn in the superconducting transition temperature at about 2.2 million atmospheres with the maximum temperature of 15 °C occurring at about 2.6 million atmospheres.
該團隊將其樣本放置於鑽石砧的鉗口中，並將此些樣本壓縮到，大約140至270萬間的大氣壓。 他們發現在大約220萬大氣壓下，超導轉變溫度急劇上升，15°C的最高溫度發生在，大約260萬大氣壓下。
According to Dias, the team was able to make three measurements to confirm that the material is indeed a superconductor. The resistance of the sample was measured using two-probe and four-probe techniques to ensure that it was indeed zero.
根據Dias的說法，該團隊能進行三項測量來確認，該材料確實是超導體。 他們使用兩探針及四探針技術測量了樣品的電阻，來確保其確實為零。
The researchers also measured the transition temperature as a function of applied magnetic field and found that the temperature dropped as the field increased – which is a hallmark of a superconductor. Finally, they observed that the material expelled magnetic field lines, which is another characteristic of a superconductor.
此些研究人員也測量了，此轉變溫度作為施加之磁場的函數，且發現溫度隨著磁場增加而下降，這是超導體的一種特性。最終，他們觀察到此材料排除了磁場線，這是超導體的另一種特性。
One shortcoming of the research may turn out to be an important opportunity: the team does not know the structure and exact stoichiometry (ratios of carbon, sulphur and hydrogen atoms) of the material at very high pressure. Dias says that the researchers have “some idea [of the stoichiometry] but don’t know the exact answer”.
該項研究的一項缺點，可能證實是一個重要機會：該團隊並不知曉，在極高壓下，該種材料的結構及確切的化學計量比(碳、硫及氫原子的比值)。Dias表示，此些研究人員具有“上述化學計量比的一些概念，不過並不知曉確切答案”。
Determining the structure is difficult because the constituent atoms are too light to see using X-ray diffraction. “We have been developing a new set of tools to solve this problem,” says Dias. Once the team has a better understanding of the structure and stoichiometry they hope to be able to chemically tune the material to be a room-temperature superconductor at lower pressures.
確定此結構是困難的，因為組成的原子太輕，無法使用X射線衍射來確認。Dias宣稱：「他們一直進行開發一套新工具，來解決此問題。」一旦該團隊對此結構及化學計量比有了更深入的瞭解，他們期盼化學上能在較低壓力下，將此種材料調變成一種室溫超導體。
Commenting on the significance of this latest result, Mikhail Eremets told Physics World, “We should keep in mind that truly room-temperature superconductor should be at ambient pressure, which will allow applications.”
針對該項最近研究結果的評論，Mikhail Eremets告訴Physics World：「他們會謹記，真正的室溫超導體應該是在，能容許諸多應用的環境壓力下。」
He adds that the high-pressure studies that began with his hydrogen sulphide work in 2015 provide important information in the search for an ambient-pressure room-temperature superconductor – which he says will be likely a ternary compound. Eremets also believes that this latest temperature record will not stand for long, pointing out that “there are predictions of [superconductivity] even above 400 K at high pressures”.
他附言，在2015年，以其硫化氫研究開始的諸多高壓研究，在尋找他說可能是三元化合物之環境力下的室溫超導體上，提供了重要訊息。Eremets也認為，該最新的溫度記錄不會持續太久，他指出“在高壓下，甚至有超導性高於400 K的預測”。
原文網址：https://physicsworld.com/a/superconductivity-endures-to-15-c-in-high-pressure-material/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=iop&utm_term=&utm_campaign=14290-47631&utm_content=Title%3A%20Superconductivity%20endures%20to%2015%C2%A0%C2%B0C%20in%20high-pressure%20material%20%20-%20Editors_pick&Campaign+Owner=
翻譯：許東榮
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