NEW SCIENCE LOBBY READY TO GO
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SCIENCE SUPERCONDUCTOR STUNS PHYSICISTS Magnesium boride sets temperature record for simple metallic compounds M AGNESIUM BORIDE HAS been found to become superconductive when cooled to 39 Κ or below [Nature, 410,63(2001)]. This might not seem like a big deal, considering that many other superconductors are known that work at much higher tempera- tures. For example, the record-set- ter among the copper oxide super- conductors works up to 135 K. Nevertheless, the announce- ment of MgB 2 's superconductiv- ity by physicistJun Akimitsu and coworkers at Aoyama-Gakuin University in Tokyo startled other superconductivity researchers. For almost 15 years, most of those researchers have been focusing on complex, specially synthesized materials like copper oxides that have proved hard to understand. Suddenly a simple, cheap metal boride that has been known for half a century and is commercially available is found to be supercon- ductive at a temperature 16 Κ higher than any other simple metallic compound. Moreover, "the rules of physics do not need to be bent for superconductivity to occur" in MgB 2 , as they do for copper oxides, writes materials scientist RobertJ. Cava of Prince- ton University in a Nature com- mentary accompanying the Jap- anese scientists' article. MgB 2 appears to be a conven- tional superconductor— that is, its behavior is explainable by the same mechanism that governs other low-temperature superconductors. This mechanism, though, was not believed to be opera- ble above 30 K. So there's "tremendous promise for even higher supercon- ducting temperatures in conventional materials," Cava notes. A second reason why physicists are excited by this discovery, Cava points out, is the possibility that MgB 2 -based materials "may even- tually be able to carry more cur- rent than the copper oxide super- conductors," which have been difficult to fashion into high-cur- rent-carryingwires. Furthermore, MgB 2 wires might not need to be cooled with liquid helium as do conventional superconductors, but rather by electrical refrigera- tors, Cava says.—RON DAGANI LAYER CAKE Crystal structure of MgB 2 shows alternating layers of boron (red) and magnesium (green) atoms. POLICY NEW SCIENCE LOBBY READY TO GO Aim is to follow NIH model, double federal funding for physical science T HE NAME AND THE BUSI- ness plan have now been released for a new non- profit group that will advocate increased federal funding for math and physical sciences research. The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in Amer- ica (ASTRA) says its doors will open for business in July ASTRA has hired an interim executive director, Robert Boege, and is now looking for 10 or more industrial members. Other mem- bers will come from the ranks of universities and colleges, scen- tific/professional/trade associa- tions, and organizations, such as venture-capital companies. Its ini- tial operating budget is pegged at $1.5 million, but ASTRAneeds to raise the money The creation of ASTRA has been spearheaded by Mary L. Good, a past president of the American Chemical Society and this year's president of the Amer- ican Association for the Advance- ment of Science. She says the budget blueprint released by the White House last week illustrates the problems ASTRAwill address. "We have not made the case that {research in] mathematics and the physical sciences are rel- evant to the economy" Good tells C&EN. Increased funding for all disciplines included in math and physical science, she adds, is nec- essary to address the manpower and mission requirements of the U.S. high-tech economy The idea for ASTRA is based on the success of another non- profit group, Research America, which is widely credited with helping to win huge federal budget increases for the bio- medical sciences. For now, ASTRA is temporar- ily housed at ACS. Between now and July, its focus will be on its legal creation. To fulfill Internal Revenue Service regulations, for example, it will need to exist as two separate organizations—one concerned with education, the other with lobbying efforts.— WILLIAM SCHULZ AKIMITSU H T T P : / / P U B S . A C S . O R G / C E N C&EN / MARCH 5, 2001 13 NEWS OF THE WEEK
Transcript of NEW SCIENCE LOBBY READY TO GO
S C I E N C E
SUPERCONDUCTOR STUNS PHYSICISTS Magnesium boride sets temperature record for simple metallic compounds
M AGNESIUM BORIDE HAS been found to become superconductive when
cooled to 39 Κ or below [Nature, 410,63(2001)].
This might not seem like a big deal, considering that many other superconductors are known that work at much higher temperatures. For example, the record-setter among the copper oxide superconductors works up to 135 K.
Nevertheless, the announcement of MgB2's superconductivity by physicist Jun Akimitsu and coworkers at Aoyama-Gakuin University in Tokyo startled other superconductivity researchers. For almost 15 years, most of those
researchers have been focusing on complex, specially synthesized materials like copper oxides that have proved hard to understand.
Suddenly a simple, cheap metal boride that has been known for half a century and is commercially available is found to be superconductive at a temperature 16 Κ higher than any other simple metallic compound. Moreover, "the rules of physics do not need to be bent for superconductivity to occur" in MgB2, as they do for copper oxides, writes materials scientist Robert J. Cava of Princeton University in a Nature commentary accompanying the Japanese scientists' article. MgB2
appears to be a conventional superconductor— that is, its behavior is explainable by the same mechanism that governs other low-temperature superconductors. This mechanism, though, was not believed to be operable above 30 K. So there's "tremendous promise for even higher superconducting temperatures in conventional materials," Cava notes.
A second reason why physicists are excited by this discovery, Cava points out, is the possibility that MgB2-based materials "may eventually be able to carry more current than the copper oxide superconductors," which have been difficult to fashion into high-cur-rent-carryingwires. Furthermore, MgB2 wires might not need to be cooled with liquid helium as do conventional superconductors, but rather by electrical refrigerators, Cava says.—RON DAGANI
LAYER CAKE Crystal structure of MgB2 shows alternating layers of boron (red) and magnesium (green) atoms.
P O L I C Y
NEW SCIENCE LOBBY READY TO GO Aim is to follow NIH model, double federal funding for physical science
T HE NAME AND THE BUSI-ness plan have now been released for a new non
profit group that will advocate increased federal funding for math and physical sciences research. The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America (ASTRA) says its doors will open for business in July
ASTRA has hired an interim executive director, Robert Boege, and is now looking for 10 or more industrial members. Other members will come from the ranks of universities and colleges, scen-
tific/professional/trade associations, and organizations, such as venture-capital companies. Its initial operating budget is pegged at $1.5 million, but ASTRAneeds to raise the money
The creation of ASTRA has been spearheaded by Mary L. Good, a past president of the American Chemical Society and this year's president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She says the budget blueprint released by the White House last week illustrates the problems ASTRAwill address.
"We have not made the case that {research in] mathematics and the physical sciences are relevant to the economy" Good tells C&EN. Increased funding for all disciplines included in math and physical science, she adds, is necessary to address the manpower and mission requirements of the U.S. high-tech economy
The idea for ASTRA is based on the success of another nonprofit group, Research America, which is widely credited with helping to win huge federal budget increases for the biomedical sciences.
For now, ASTRA is temporarily housed at ACS. Between now and July, its focus will be on its legal creation. To fulfill Internal Revenue Service regulations, for example, it will need to exist as two separate organizations—one concerned with education, the other with lobbying efforts.— WILLIAM SCHULZ
AKIMITSU
H T T P : / / P U B S . A C S . O R G / C E N C & E N / M A R C H 5, 2 0 0 1 1 3
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