Scientists have identified the first unconventional superconductor that you can find in nature.Conventional superconductors follow a specific, well known paradigm called BCS.Miassite does occur naturally, but this test was on a pure, lab-made sample.In new research, scientists explain how one mineral found in nature is more than just a typical superconductor.
In 1978, German physicist Frank Steglich discovered the first unconventional superconductor in his laboratory, made from cerium, copper, and silicon. This “heavy fermion” superconductor doesn’t conform to BCS theory, so its superconductivity is coming from something else. Other unconventional superconductor types include cuprates and ferropnictides .But, as the new paper explains, all of these materials “are products of synthetic solid-state chemistry and are not found in nature.