想象一下這樣一個(gè)世界：它有漂浮空中的車(chē)，有筆記本電腦大小的磁共振（MRI）掃描器，還有大規(guī)模配給的高效能源。如果科學(xué)家們能夠充分利用《自然》雜志上刊登的一項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果，那么實(shí)現(xiàn)這些景象就不是白日做夢(mèng)了。

Superconductors carry electricity with no loss to resistance. They are to regular conductors what a laser beam is to a light bulb. The problem is they have to be cooled to at least –100 degrees Celsius to work. Then the electrons spontaneously start moving in one direction and forming pairs. And now, scientists have caught a glimpse of a mysterious phase they call the “pseudo-gap” where the electrons line up just before they form pairs and start superconducting.

超導(dǎo)體能沒(méi)有任何電阻地帶電。相比起來(lái)，超導(dǎo)體之于常規(guī)導(dǎo)體，就像一束激光之于一個(gè)燈泡?？蓡?wèn)題在于超導(dǎo)體至少要冷卻到一百攝氏度才能工作。在此溫度下，電子會(huì)自發(fā)地開(kāi)始向一個(gè)方向運(yùn)動(dòng)并形成電子對(duì)。就在這里，科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)神秘階段，他們稱之為“虛能隙”，在此階段，電子們會(huì)在形成配對(duì)并開(kāi)始超導(dǎo)之前排列成隊(duì)。

Louis Taillefer from the University of Sherbrooke said they used a magnetic field to align the electron flow: “The effect was very big. It was surprisingly big.”

謝布魯克大學(xué)的路易斯塔里夫表示他們用磁場(chǎng)來(lái)調(diào)整電子流?！澳苄Х浅ｓ@人，完全出乎意料”。

If scientists can take advantage of this effect, room temperature superconductors could be a step closer. “If we do find or if we do arrive at a material that can sustain superconductivity at room temperature we will have a huge technological revolution, similar on a scale to the transistor.”

如果科學(xué)家們能夠利用這一能效，人類離實(shí)現(xiàn)室溫超導(dǎo)體的目標(biāo)就更進(jìn)一步?！叭绻覀冋婺苷业交虬l(fā)明出一種在室溫下也保持超導(dǎo)性的材料，這將是一場(chǎng)巨大的科技革命，不亞于晶體管發(fā)明所引起的第三次科技革命。”

—Sonya Buyting