Superconductivity switched on in material once thought only magnetic

Superconductivity—the ability of a material to conduct electricity without any energy loss to heat—enables highly efficient, ultra-fast electronics essential for advanced technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, particle accelerators and, potentially, quantum computers. New research has now revealed that iron telluride (FeTe), a compound composed of the chemical elements iron and tellurium and long thought to be an ordinary magnetic metal, is in fact a superconductor. The researchers found that hidden excess iron atoms induce the material's magnetism, and removing these atoms allows electricity to flow with zero resistance.