Room-temperature superconductor

A room temperature superconductor is material yet to be discovered which would be capable of exhibiting superconducting properties at temperatures above 0°C (273.15 K). This is of course not strictly speaking "room temperature" (20–25°C), however it can be reached very cheaply even for large machines (for example, meat closets reach this temperature).

Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductors, several materials have been claimed as being room-temperature superconductors. In every case, independent investigation has quickly proved these claims false. As a result, most condensed matter physicists now welcome with extreme scepticism any further claims of this nature.

As of 2005, the highest-temperature superconductor (at ambient pressure) is mercury thallium barium calcium copper oxide (Hg_0.8Tl_0.2Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O_8.33), at 138 K, though there are claims that this can be raised to 164 K by applying high pressure to the superconductor.

In the movie Terminator 2 it is revealed that the T-800's CPU is superconducting at room temperature.