Researchers at Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have found that immersing pellets of an iron-based compound in heated alcoholic beverages for 24 hours greatly increases their superconducting ability.

According to the abstract published in the Superconductor Science And Technology
technical journal:

We found that hot alcoholic beverages were effective in inducing superconductivity in FeTe0.8S0.2. Heating the FeTe0.8S0.2 compound in various alcoholic beverages enhances the superconducting properties compared to a pure water–ethanol mixture as a control. Heating with red wine for 24 h leads to the largest shielding volume fraction of 62.4% and the highest zero resistivity temperature of 7.8 K. Some components present in alcoholic beverages, other than water and ethanol, have the ability to induce superconductivity in the FeTe0.8S0.2 compound.

Translating From Atomic Chemistry To English

Let me translate this into ordinary English. Iron compounds tend to be somewhat magnetized because they were formed in the earth's magnetic field. The molecules line up - and that magnetic order interferes with superconductivity. It's sorta like meeting people in a classroom as opposed to a cocktail party - the rigid rows and columns of the desks don't make it easy to pass notes - or electrons.

If two chemicals come into contact with each other, sometimes they engage in atom-swapping. Bob & Carol and Ted & Alice become Bob & Alice and Ted & Carol. From a distance, you still have two couples, or two molecules, but they aren't exactly the same. This is known mostly from studying isotopes. Carbon-12 molecules and Carbon-14 molecules are exchanged, for instance.

The iron compounds, when exposed to air, lose their magnetic order over a period of about 3 months, as atoms are exchanged. The molecules are reborn in a different magnetic alignment, and so they don't line up with each other. These scientists found that heating the pellets in hot (158F) alcoholic beverages did the same thing in 24 hours.

It's Not Just Alcohol

It's not entirely the alcohol, though, because different alcoholic beverages of the same alcoholic concentration work differently, as you can see by the graph we've included. It surely is partly influenced by other chemicals in the beverage.

Red wine, if you recall, is also known to be beneficial to the heart. A single glass a day will help you live longer. After that news came out, Blondie and I tried to start dosing ourselves with 5 ounces of red wine daily. We tried a variety of red wines, and some were better than others, but we really didn't enjoy the wine and we were unable to develop a habit, so we gave up.

It made for some interesting double-takes, though, when I would have my medical history taken. They would always ask "Do you drink alcohol?" and I'd respond, "No, but I'm trying hard to develop the habit."

Beverage alcohol, it seems, induces a lot of things. Superconductivity, heart health, pregnancy, hangovers, confusion.... and not just in people drinking it.

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
alcohol - iron compounds - red wine - superconductivity