The Breakdown of Trust with Doomberg - WBD697

Doomberg is an anonymous collective producing the world’s most
popular financial substack. In this interview, we discuss the
state of scientific research in the context of the potential
game-changing implications that a room-temperature superconductor
may have been developed. We talk about the framework for
evaluating such claims, the importance of critical thinking, and
a range of other current topics of debate.


- - - -


In the digital age, reducing the electrical resistance of
conducting materials is one of the major problems scientists are
working on; such resistance leads to energy loss in the form of
heat, and thereby, the inefficient transmission of electricity
and increased costs. The US energy grid loses about 5% of
electricity through transmission lines due to such resistance,
enough energy to power the whole of Central America 4 times over.


The innovation that overcomes the resistance issue is
superconductivity: the phenomenon where certain materials can
conduct electric current with zero resistance so there is no
energy loss due to resistance and no heat generation. Further,
superconductors can carry electric current indefinitely without
any degradation of the signal, making them incredibly efficient.


Superconductivity’s impact on technological progress is
significant. It enables the development of more efficient
electrical systems beyond power transmission: it has
revolutionized fields such as medical imaging, particle
accelerators and quantum computing. It could also lead to
breakthroughs in fields like transportation, where
superconducting materials could create highly efficient electric
motors or levitation systems for maglev trains.


However, traditional superconductors require extremely low
temperatures, often near absolute zero, making their
implementation and maintenance expensive and impractical. If
superconductivity could be achieved at or close to room
temperature, it could herald a new technology revolution. So,
when South Korean researchers recently announced the discovery of
a new room-temperature superconductor material called LK 99, ‘X’
(i.e. Twitter) went crazy.


However, there is a massive gap between claims of scientific
breakthrough and peer-reviewed validation. Unfortunately, in this
case, other researchers are struggling to replicate the original
work. As such, whilst the excitement around such news is
obviously merited, we need all to remain rooted in the methodical
scientific method, which is predicated on scepticism. As Carl
Sagan stated, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary
evidence”.


Show notes:
https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-breakdown-of-trust-with-doomberg



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