Their findings, published in Advanced Quantum Technologies, suggest that room-temperature superconductivity can be achieved using Scotch-taped cleaved pyrolytic graphite with surface wrinkles.

However, we have seen all this stuff before, and it seems to be up there with perpetual motion and time travel.

ACM said: "Time and time again, physicists have announced breakthroughs that were later found to be irreproducible, in error, or even the issue is once again simmering."

In January 2024, the boffins used their unique method to observe a superconducting state at room temperature, which has garnered considerable attention in the scientific community.

The researchers argue that this development could help solve a critical superconductivity puzzle: understanding how defects and wrinkles in materials like scotch-taped cleaved pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) affect electrical properties.

However, scepticism abounds. Chief technology officer at HYPRES Elie Track said, "We haven't reached a point where there is a clear path to room-temperature superconductivity because researchers are either overly enthusiastic or deceptive. "

"People fail to check measurements and others can't reproduce their results. There is a lot of carelessness and sloppy science surrounding the space because people are so eager to succeed."

The team behind this research believes their discovery could positively influence the quest for practical room-temperature superconductivity. They reported achieving one-dimensional superconductivity in pyrolytic graphite at temperatures as high as 300 degrees Kelvin (26.85 degrees Celsius) at ambient pressure.

Vinokur and physicist Maria Cristina Diamantini hailed the development as the first "unambiguous experimental evidence" of a zero-resistance global room temperature state. If validated, this could pave the way for new superconducting materials.

Alan Kadin, a technical consultant and former professor of electrical engineering at the University of Rochester, pointed out that one of the key researchers, Yakov Kopelevich, has been in the field for two decades, but "The results are not reproducible in other labs. Until someone else independently reproduces these results, I think we can safely ignore them," he argued.