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Comment by asdfman123 | Hacker News Reader

I'm not so sure there's geologic implications. This kind of superconductivity only occurs in very specific compounds at very specific temperatures -- way cooler than what's going on in the earth's core.

We've found a few substances that are superconductive at very low temperatures, but it doesn't have any impact on geology because those conditions simply aren't found on earth.

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Not necessarily, the point of the article is that there is a high/room temperature superconducting material. That doesn't mean it is naturally occurring or that there are any, but the understanding that you can achieve superconductivity at higher temperatures when at (significantly) higher pressures could lead to some new geological hypothesis to try and test.

The earth's core is north of 4000 degrees Celsius. It's a huge leap to imagine any superconductor at those temperatures, nevermind such a precisely engineered mix of elements occurring naturally. We're squarely in the realm of fantasy here, not geology.

I think the only way to answer that question is to do more research, as opposed to squarely assuming that something is impossible simply because you didn't think of it.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

"Fantasy" seems a little bit harsh to me, when our deepest borehole reaches only 12,2km down. Also our acceptance of continental drift/plate tectonics is rather young.

In other words: We have a few vague assumptions of what happens down there, based on our current understanding of physics, which we base on what we could veri-/falsify by experimenting with things which are accessible or at least visible to us.

Nobody has been down there, we have no pristine samples, nor the ability to get them(for now).

That we've never made a hole that deep does not mean we know nothing. We know a great deal by measuring seismic waves as they pass through the earth. That's how we know the earth has a solid inner core, despite the temperatures.

It's fantasy given what we understand about the earth and about superconductors. That's not impossible, but like any highly improbable claim it requires extraordinary evidence to take seriously. Otherwise it's like claiming there's a teapot between the earth and the sun, or some kind of invisible deity. We've left the realm of science and the natural world and entered the world of fantasy.

I didn't claim we know nothing, just vague. I'm aware of seismic surveys, even trying to use neutrino-observatories to look through.

We can't really predict when a volcano will erupt with what force. Same for when, where and why with earth quakes. That's much more accessible and of concern to us, yet we can't. Because our understandings are vague! Got it?

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