A team of French researchers yesterday claimed a major breakthrough in the field of superconductivity, saying they had found a powder that conducts electricity at room temperature with no loss of power. The team, led by Serge Contreras of the National Institute of Applied Science in Lyon, found that the powder, composed of Lithium, Beryllium and Hydrogen, acted as a superconductor at 77oF, 25oC, scientist Jean-Pierre Bastide, director of Contreras’ laboratory, told Reuters. Currently known superconductors have been ceramics or oxides. The scientists have not yet determined how to measure the powder’s resistance, nor how to remove impurities. The team includes scientists from the National Center for Scientific Research and the Atomic Energy Commission in Paris and the Claude Bernard University in Lyon.
