On Wednesday, as the flaws in the South Korean room-temperature superconductivity paper were exposed, shares of the American Superconductor concept stock "American Superconductor" plummeted nearly 30% during trading. In the A-share market, many superconductivity concept stocks that hit the daily limit also stated in the evening of Wednesday that their business is unrelated to superconductivity.
On Wednesday, August 2nd, as the Korean room-temperature American Superconductor paper was exposed for its defects, stocks related to American Superconductor concept plummeted.
The stock price of American Superconductor experienced a significant plunge, with a nearly 30% intraday decline. The previous trading day saw a skyrocketing intraday surge of over 72% for the stock.
It is worth noting that American Superconductor, a company specializing in energy solutions, mainly in wind power and power grids, does not have a high degree of relevance to American Superconductor concept based on its business operations. However, due to the association of the company name with American Superconductor concept, it has been wildly speculated by the market.
In recent days, the speculation surrounding the American Superconductor concept has swept across the globe.
In the A-share market, stocks related to the American Superconductor concept have also been subject to speculation. On August 2nd, stocks related to the American Superconductor concept in the A-share market experienced a surge, with multiple stocks such as Guolian Detection, Far East Smarter Energy, Baolide Electric, Zhongfu Industrial, Innovation Materials, and Jinda Shares hitting the daily limit. However, many of these companies subsequently issued announcements stating that their business operations have no connection with American Superconductor.
The Korean room-temperature American Superconductor paper may have defects, causing a sharp decline in stocks related to American Superconductor concept
The reason behind the sharp decline of stocks related to American Superconductor concept on Wednesday can be attributed to the fact that members of a Korean team, who recently published a sensational paper globally, stated that the paper has defects and one of the team members released it without authorization. The team has now requested the paper to be taken down.
Previously, a Korean research team published a paper on the preprint website arXiv, claiming that a material named "LK-99" can achieve room-temperature American Superconductivity. LK-99 is a hexagonal structure slightly modified from lead phosphates, with a small amount of copper introduced, enabling it to exhibit American Superconductivity below 127 degrees Celsius. Information from arXiv shows that the research team includes representatives from the Institute for Quantum Energy Research, Lee Seok-bae, Professor Kwon Young-wan from Korea University, Honorary Professor Woo Geun-ho from Hanyang University, and Kim Hyun-jok, who previously worked at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) in Korea. After the paper attracted international attention, Li Shuopei recently stated in an interview that the research team was not ready to publish the paper, but Quan Yingwan unilaterally released the paper without the consent of other authors. The team is currently requesting the paper to be taken down from arXiv. Li Shuopei also stated that this research is actually a supplement to the American Superconductor paper published in a Korean journal in April this year, and they have applied for review from international journals. Jin Xianzhuo also stated in an interview with American media that the paper has many flaws and was published without his permission.
What changes will Room-Temperature American Superconductor bring?
Room-Temperature American Superconductor is considered as a representative technology of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution" and, once achieved, will bring about new technological innovations.
Guo Mingji, an analyst at TF International Securities, believes:
Room-Temperature American Superconductor currently does not have a commercialization timetable, but if it can be successfully commercialized in the future, it will have a revolutionary impact on the design of products in the computer and consumer electronics fields. Technological and material innovations in computers and consumer electronics are aimed at achieving high-speed computing, high-frequency high-speed transmission, and miniaturization. The characteristic of American Superconductor, which means the disappearance of resistance, will completely change the existing product design and the adoption of materials and technologies. For example, there will no longer be a need for cooling systems, it can replace optical fibers/high-end CCL, and reduce the entry barriers for advanced nodes. This means that even small mobile devices like the iPhone can have computing power comparable to quantum computers.
Nick Cheng, an analyst at Jefferies, believes:
If LK-99 is proven to be real and can be mass-produced, it will have a disruptive impact on a wide range of industries. With this technology, it is possible to produce power cables with lossless transmission and energy-saving capabilities, and make progress in computer chips, railway transportation, and medical imaging.
Science magazine wrote:
If true, this discovery will be one of the greatest discoveries in the history of condensed matter physics and may bring about various technological miracles.
Zheshang Securities pointed out that the realization of Room-Temperature American Superconductor is expected to lead a new round of industrial revolution. The reason behind this is that the realization of Room-Temperature American Superconductor will profoundly transform the current energy system, information processing and transmission system, and bring progress in areas such as medical testing, high-speed transportation, and even controlled nuclear fusion.