A radical new theory about superconductors claims that protons, and not just electrons, can travel unobstructed through metals. And intriguingly, proton superconductivity should work at room temperature. Up to now, researchers have mainly studied the superconductivity that occurs in certain metals at low temperatures. In these conditions, electrons form so-called Cooper pairs - two electrons that are linked together by vibrations in the lattice. Each pair ends up in a peculiar quantum state that causes it to be "delocalised", so that it can exist throughout the lattice rather than at any one fixed position, and can thus move smoothly through the lattice. It's a cascade of these Cooper pairs that gives rise to superconductivity.
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