‘Unconventional’ nickel superconductor excites physicists

Physicists have observed the key hallmarks of superconductivity in a thin film of crystals of nickel oxide, which they grew in the laboratory, at room pressure and a relatively high temperature of 45 kelvin (–228 °C). These crystals now join two groups of ceramics as ‘unconventional superconductors’ that can operate without being squeezed under pressure and at temperatures well above absolute zero. This new data point could be a step towards creating superconducting materials that work under ambient conditions, which would make technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging much cheaper and more efficient.