Submitted by MistWeaver80 t3_ytfde2 in science
Glad I wasn’t the only one who at first thought how could an entire planet be super conductive.
I mean, it's mostly made of metal so it wouldn't be impossible..
At its temperature? I think that would warrant further Investigation.
Oh, absolutely. If mercury were a superconductor, we would probably know by now with all the tests we've done. It almost certainly isn't, but a planet sized superconductor would be really interesting
It was actually the 111 years later part that I thought was odd until I figured it out - I was like how did they know the planet was a super conductor way back then?
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Was hoping for a brief summary in the title after the bold claim
Yeah I hate reading too
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They did new, more refined theoretical calculations that fit experimental data.
Also mercury glows when you spin it, really probably only scratching the surface with it.
It’s hard to scratch a liquid.
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It was used in the engines of the vimana, apparently, so we surely have yet to unlock its gravity defying secrets.
I did, but it was boring and dumb so I threw away all the proof.
What wonders will the adeptus mechanicus gift us with next?? All glory to the emperor!!!
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TL;DR - Mercury has long been considered a "conventional superconductor" due to having Cooper pair interactions, etc. but the basic DFT models that usually predict critical-temperature for those kinds of superconductors have trouble making good predictions for Mercury. Now, using more complex modern DFT models, they're able to get a critical-temperature prediction from the theory that matches reality to within 2.5%, as well as pinpoint which aspects of Mercury throw-off the basic stripped-down models.
Agariculture t1_iw3u9qo wrote
I was wondering how a planet could be superconducting; then i realized it was the metal. Nice