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Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Rank 082Down 2
#8 in Rising Fastest
of 20 ranked entries
LK-99
Claimed room-temperature superconductor, South Korea, 2023 — later unreplicated
A 2023 preprint claiming a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor triggered a genuine global research scramble within days, and the claim’s subsequent failure to replicate across dozens of independent labs has become a widely cited case study in how fast science self-corrects when the stakes and public attention are this high. Recorded specifics: category Science & health, home rank 34, rank gain 19. Panel highlighted triggered an unusually fast, transparent global replication effort that demonstrated the scientific self-correction process working in near-real time, reignited serious, well-funded research interest in ambient-condition superconductivity even after the original claim fell apart and became a widely taught case study in how to evaluate extraordinary claims before peer review completes. The reservation on record is the original claim was not replicated by any independent laboratory and is now considered unsubstantiated by the physics community.
Science & health
Score breakdown
How LK-99 earned 86.3
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Rising Fastest.
- Rate of rank gainweight 35%
- 84.5
- Engagement growthweight 25%
- 86.0
- Trend durabilityweight 20%
- 87.4
- Editorial confidenceweight 20%
- 88.8
“This entry is tracked here specifically as a cautionary case study — the original superconductivity claim did not hold up, and this list says so directly rather than omitting the correction.”
— Top 49, on Rising Fastest
On the record
Recorded detail
| Category | Science & health |
|---|---|
| Home rank | 34 |
| Rank gain | 19 |
| Momentum | 7.9 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Triggered an unusually fast, transparent global replication effort that demonstrated the scientific self-correction process working in near-real time
- Reignited serious, well-funded research interest in ambient-condition superconductivity even after the original claim fell apart
- Became a widely taught case study in how to evaluate extraordinary claims before peer review completes
Where it gives ground
- The original claim was not replicated by any independent laboratory and is now considered unsubstantiated by the physics community
1 appearance
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