The incredible phenomenon of superconductivity – electrical conduction without resistance – was discovered more than a century ago. Yet until recently, the copper oxides, and magnesium diboride were the only known families of materials with superconducting temperatures close to accessible liquid Nitrogen temperatures. The discovery of the iron-based family of superconductors in 2008, with superconducting temperatures exceeding 50 K, was very exciting.
We made the discovery that the parent iron-based magnet transformed into a 40 K superconductor solely by the application of pressure, with profound implications for the discovery of new families of high temperature superconductors.