Silicon is the most popular semiconductor when it comes to manufacturing home electronics and circuits in general. This is simply because of the excellent semiconducting properties of the element. French scientists have now managed to make silicon superconducting. They’ve used a mix of silicon and boron, with an exceptionally high amount of boron (9%). It’s common to mix these two, but never at this high ratio and that is also the secret behind the superconducting ability. Boron namely has one electron less than silicon in its outer orbitals, which creates a “hole” the electrons can jump between. Alas, this only applies at temperatures below 0.35K, I.e. -272.8°C or -459°F, so there are no plans to use this in a commercial sense.
