{
  "id": 7535667,
  "title": "‘Vacuumtronics’ could help make better superconductors",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/vacuumtronics-could-help-make-better-superconductors",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-15T11:00:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Physics World",
    "slug": "physics-world",
    "url": "https://physicsworld.com/a/vacuumtronics-could-help-make-better-superconductors/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new concept called \"vacuumtronics\" has been proposed by researchers in China and the United States, which could help enhance superconductivity in bulk materials. Superconductivity is a phenomenon where a material conducts electricity with zero resistance, and scientists have been searching for ways to tweak this property without physically altering the material.\n\nAccording to quantum electrodynamics, a vacuum is not truly empty, but rather a sea of fluctuating electromagnetic fields where pairs of virtual particles are continuously created and annihilated. These vacuum fluctuations have been linked to various quantum effects like the Lamb shift, spontaneous emission, and the Casimir effect. Scientists have been investigating how to harness these fluctuations to modify bulk matter's properties.\n\nThe challenge lies in the fact that these fluctuations are extremely weak and produce only minute changes in macroscopic quantum states. However, they can be amplified by factors of 100 or more using resonant cavities, which are structures that can focus and enhance electromagnetic fields. Researchers have already used such enhanced vacuum fields to alter material properties like chemical reactivity, topological states, and conductivity.\n\nIn a groundbreaking experiment, a team led by Changgan Zeng and Guanghui Cheng from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) embedded a layered superconductor called niobium diselenide (NbSe2) partially inside a specially designed near-terahertz split-ring resonator called a \"dark cavity.\" By measuring the resistance of NbSe2 as a function of temperature, they found a 5.4% increase in the superconducting critical temperature (Tc) when the material was inside the cavity compared to samples outside. This enhancement occurred even though both samples originated from the same NbSe2 flake, and no light was shone on the material or energy actively pumped into it.\n\nThe researchers believe that the superconducting state exchanges virtual photons with the dark cavity, which lowers the energy of this state and strengthens superconductivity. The effect can be explained by the Ginzburg–Landau framework, where the characteristic energy of the cavity mode matches the low-energy superconducting fluctuations, leading to resonant enhancement.\n\nThe work establishes vacuum fluctuations as a new non-invasive method to tune superconductivity, with potential applications in superconducting circuits, quantum sensors, and other quantum devices. The China–US team plans to further enhance the effect through improved cavity and material design and collaborate with theorists to investigate the underlying microscopic mechanisms.",
  "summary": "Vacuum fluctuations could be a non-invasive way to tune superconductivity The post ‘Vacuumtronics’ could help make better superconductors appeared first on Physics World .",
  "key_points": [
    "Vacuumtronics concept proposed to enhance superconductivity in bulk materials.",
    "Vacuum fluctuations, continuous virtual particle creation, linked to quantum effects.",
    "Enhanced superconductivity observed in NbSe2 when partially embedded in dark cavity."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}