Are we really sure we understand how superconductivity happens? At one point there were theories, materials that didn't match the theories, and new theories to try to explain the anomalies. But I don't know how that all played out in the end.

If we actually understand the process then you could simulate the materials, the way we do fluid dynamics or protein folding. But without that understanding we could end up flagging the eventual winners as unlikely and reduce progress instead of increasing it.

And if we can do that, why haven't we used the same thing for battery chemistries? Give me all of the low-dendrite battery formulas sorted by simulated capacity, weight, longevity and engineering difficulty, please.