Blockchain company is granted a patent for a room-temperature superconductor

https://twitter.com/TajQuantum/status/1685411936555368449

by dmitrybrant • 3 years ago

12 10 3 years ago

twitter.com

api2• 3 years ago

Ooh high temperature superconductors are in the news how can we work this into a crypto grift?

westurner• 3 years ago

How much more efficient are superconducting mining rigs?

dmitrybrant2• 3 years ago

For sure, but it's a bit weirder than that: 1) They applied for the patent in 2021, long before the current hype coming from Korea. 2) The patent was officially granted by the Patent Office on pretty much the same day as the Korean preprints were uploaded. The patent is very clearly bunk, but the timing of the patent approval is an astronomical coincidence.

3cats-in-a-coat• 3 years ago

These happen a lot. Reality doesn't quite work like we think it does.

andersa2• 3 years ago

Why is the patent clearly bunk?

rsynnott• 3 years ago

[..] but the timing of the patent approval is an astronomical coincidence.

Is it, though? Patents for complete nonsense are granted all the time; it would not surprise me if room-temperature superconductor patents are actually quite common. If that's the case, one granted at about the same time as there's room temperature superconductor news will naturally get extra attention, no coincidence involved.

brucethemoose2• 3 years ago

In a nutshell, the patent describes hydrocarbon wetted graphene with regular holes punched through it as a type II superconductor.

Apparently Lockheed Martin patented, and can produce, the perforated graphene for water filtration, and the holes let the magnetic field lines escape without compromising the effective superconductivity of a wire.

...Yes, the word blockchain singularly and immediately increased my skepticism, as if any mention of graphene didn't already. But for what its worth, their website advertises some kind of communication app with quantum resistant encryption, not a cryptocurrency.

api2• 3 years ago

A communication app with quantum resistant encryption is easy. Just use Kyber in a hybrid mode with ECC for key exchange.

ECC is just defense in depth against Kyber having weaknesses because it’s new.

Blockchain company is granted a patent for a room-temperature superconductor

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