Science / Medicine : Superconductivity Advance

Superconducting materials can carry current by two mechanisms, rather than one as some theories hold, says a study published last week. The findings should help scientists figure out how superconductivity works, researchers said.

But they still do not know just how superconductivity arises in so-called “high-temperature” superconductors, which require less chilling than previous materials before they lose their electrical resistance.

University of Tokyo researchers reported in last week’s issue of the British journal Nature that they developed a new family of compounds in which the current is carried by electrons, which are tiny charged particles.

In previously known high-temperature superconductors, the charge was carried instead by roving areas called “holes” that lack electrons, they said.