Scientists present a “new form of energy” that with the help of AI abolishes the conventional AC/DC conversion

The current global energy platform runs only on alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC), which were invented by Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison more than a century ago. The joint research work now brings the ADC as a hybrid form of power, where both AC and DC work on the same, existing wires, eliminating the need for wasteful power conversion.

This new form of energy, or electricity, is already being used at lower voltages with the short-term goal of evolving into high-voltage solutions. According to Lee, the ultimate evolution of “AC DC” is a hybrid utility grid that runs on existing wires.

Superconductivity at room temperature – a goal that scientists are not giving up on

During this year, we have had the opportunity to see several breakthroughs that could dramatically reduce energy transmission losses.

Superconducting materials are one way to do this, and this year we had the opportunity to see more discoveries related to this sphere. One of them was the Korean discovery of a supposedly superconductor LK-99 that transmits electricity without heat loss at room temperature. However, soon after the publication, the discovery ran into more problems, when new research showed that he still can't do it, but then others came forward who claim that he can.

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Until scientists are completely sure about the capabilities of LK-99, there is other research that deals with superconductivity. In March, Professor Ranga Dias and his team at the University of Rochester published a scientific paper titled “Evidence of near-ambient superconductivity in N-doped lutetium hydride.” In it, they explained how they created a new superconducting material by combining a silvery-white, dense metal called lutetium with hydrogen and nitrogen.

Then they discovered that the new material behaves as a superconductor at temperatures up to 21 degrees Celsius when heated and under a pressure of about 10,000 bars. Although this amount of pressure sounds high, it is actually lower than the pressure required for other superconductors at room temperature, as the vast majority of other superconductors require pressures in the millions of bars or similar to the pressure in the Earth's core.

This not only makes electrical grids much more efficient, but can also be used in everyday life. If the possibilities of this superconductor are confirmed, their use would be very exciting.

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“We could magnetically levitate trains above superconducting rails, change the way electricity is stored and transmitted, and revolutionize medical imaging,” Professor Dias told the WSJ at the time.

For example, the US power grid loses about five percent of its total electricity during transmission, which translates into consumers paying six billion dollars a year in higher electricity bills.

Electrical superconductivity was first discovered more than a century ago. Scientists have discovered that mercury that has been cooled to near absolute zero shows no resistance to the flow of electricity. Then they also discovered that superconductors shed magnetic fields and thus allow magnets to levitate above them.

Since then, researchers have tackled the challenge of creating a superconductor that operates at low enough temperatures and pressures to be useful in practical, real-life situations. Dias and his team's discovery could lead to power grids that are actually capable of transmitting power seamlessly, saving millions of megawatt-hours that are currently wasted due to resistance during transmission through copper and aluminum cables.