Experiment with superconductors causes row among physicists

eIt rarely happens that articles in specialized journals are pulled because the measurement curves and results turn out to be fake or tampered. It is even unusual for posts to be removed later because their author erred. It happened now George HirschSeemingly feisty and irritable view from University of California in San Diego. Hirsch is known for his skeptical attitude towards the BCS theory, for which the Nobel Prize was awarded in 1972 and which conclusively explains why electric current flows without any resistance in metallic superconductors.

However, the researcher is also skeptical about experiments that attempt to induce superconductivity in hydrogen compounds at very high pressures. Ranga Dias’ work caught Hirsch’s attention as well, and even that published in Science It was hailed as a 2020 breakthrough. Dias, who works at the University of Rochester, has been with his colleagues a year and a half ago In the magazine “Nature” A substance that broke, so to speak, the sound barrier to superconductivity: the compressed mixture of carbon, sulfur and hydrogen seemed to lose all resistance at plus 15 degrees – no superconductor before was so warm. The provided measurement curves convinced experts commissioned by “Nature”, but not Hirsch. He immediately demanded the delivery of the original data.

When Dias refused, Hirsch swept him with counter-prints and spoke out about the fraud. Because he took what Dias noted as merely markings of a metal case. The dispute has long since left the realistic level, and even those responsible for it “arXiv”, an online platform for articles that haven’t yet been reviewed, is reminded of the hit exchange on Twitter. Unbelievable Hirsch, “arXiv” has now pulled the crack rope.

Now can Hirsch. So the “Science” news portal reports, It hasn’t been posted there for six monthsAnd it’s also home to all kinds of crazy ideas that don’t stand a chance of appearing in a serious magazine. Meanwhile, Hirsch provided his own view on the facts on his homepage. Whatever the outcome of the story, one thing is clear: tone still makes music, perhaps especially when scientific truth is at stake.