---
title: "Scientists Find Superconductor Inside Giant Meteorite"
description: "For the first time, scientists have found samples of a superconductor — a material that can conduct electricity without any resistance — that seems to have originated in space. The superconductor, an alloy of tin, indium, and lead, was hiding away inside a fragment of the Mundrabilla meteorite that landed in Australia over […]"
date: "2020-03-24"
modified: "2020-03-24"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/superconductor-found-inside-giant-meteorite"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "meteorite"
  - "superconductor"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Find Superconductor Inside Giant Meteorite

![A team of researchers found a superconducting metal inside metoerite fragments, suggesting the advanced material is forming on its own out in space.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/superconductor-inside-giant-meteorite.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Claire H/Flickr/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Raining Down

For the first time, scientists have found samples of a superconducting material — meaning it can conduct electricity without resistance — that seems to have originated in space.

The superconductor was hiding inside a fragment of a giant meteorite that smashed into Australia over 100 years ago, [according to *Gizmodo*](<https://gizmodo.com/scientists-find-a-superconductor-in-bits-of-meteorite-1842455168>), and another superconducting sample was found inside a second meteorite.

While the superconductor isn't particularly useful to engineers trying to [build quantum computers](<https://futurism.com/honeywell-beating-everyone-quantum-supremacy>), it suggests that an advanced material we're struggling to develop on Earth can form on its own out in space.

## Gut Check

The specific superconducting alloy that the University of California San Diego researchers found also exists on Earth, so they had to double-check their discovery with various methods, *Gizmodo* reports. Otherwise, they ran the risk of saying they'd found extraterrestrial superconductors when they had accidentally contaminated the sample.

But, per [the research they published](<https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/03/17/1918056117/tab-article-info>) in *PNAS* Monday, the finding seems legit.

"The big takeaway is that there is superconductivity in the sky, naturally occurring," lead researcher Ivan Schuller told *Gizmodo*.

## Frigid Metal

The alloy found in the meteorites doesn't behave like a superconductor at room temperature. If it did, it [would be a prime candidate](<https://futurism.com/superconductor-record-temperature>) for the circuitry of practical quantum computers.

Instead, it only acts like a superconductor at about five degrees Kelvin, *Gizmodo*. That's nearly the theoretical minimum temperature of the universe, making the discovery a cool find — but not a terribly practical one.

**READ MORE:** [Scientists Find a Superconductor in Bits of Meteorite](<https://gizmodo.com/scientists-find-a-superconductor-in-bits-of-meteorite-1842455168>) \[*Gizmodo*\]

**More on superconductors:** *[Scientists Set New Temperature Record for Superconductivity](<https://futurism.com/superconductor-record-temperature>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)