From
io9:
Yoshihiko Takano and other researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan were in the process of creating a certain kind of superconductor by putting a compound in hot water and soaking it for hours. They also soaked the compound in a mixture of water and ethanol. It appears the process was going well, because the scientists decided to have a little party. The party included sake, whisky, various wines, shochu, and beer. At a certain point, the researchers decided to try soaking the compound in the many, many liquors they had on hand and seeing how they compared to the more conventional soaking liquids.
As you do.
When they tested the resulting materials for superconductivity, they found that the ones soaked in commercial booze came out ahead. About 15 percent of the material became a superconductor for the water mixed with ethanol, and less for the pure water. By comparison, Shochu jacked up conductivity by 23 percent and red wine managed to supercharge over 62 percent of the material. The scientists were pleased, if bemused with their results.
The data comes first. Explanations afterwards. No, I haven't got a clue why this should be so either. We need to repeat the experiment to make sure the effect is real - and if it is, do some serious thinking. That's Thinking with a "Th" not a "Dr".
Were these the same researchers as in this Onion article?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't the base of most scientific advances begin with "That's funny....."
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