日本国家材料研究所研究人员发现，浸没在红酒、清酒和烧酒等热酒精饮料中的铁基化合物，可加速诱导出超导性(superconductivity)。在热酒精饮料中铁基化合物的浸没颗粒在24小时内就会大幅提高其超导能力。暴露在空气中的铁基化合物的超导能力通常需要几个月时间才能实现，现在一天内就能达成。研究中使用的样本包括了红酒、白酒、啤酒、日本清酒、烧酒和威士忌。红酒的诱导超导属性最好。

Wine can help keep conversation flowing at a dinner party. And now it looks like that wine may aid in materials science as well. Japanese researchers discovered that hot alcoholic beverages induce superconductivity in iron-based compounds.

These compounds can become superconducting by being exposed to oxygen, but it takes months. Scientists have been searching for a way to speed that up.
 
So researchers at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science decided to test the reaction with alcohol.
 
They put samples of the compounds in red and white wines, beer, sake, shochu— another Japanese alcohol—and whiskey. There were controls of water-ethanol mixtures.
 
The samples were heated to 70 degrees Celcius for 24 hours.
 
The water ethanol mixtures didn’t have much of an effect, but the drinks did induce superconductivity—red wine best of all.
 
The scientists speculate there may be particular elements in red wine that are replacing elements in the iron-based compounds.
 
It may be that wine speeds up the supply of oxygen into the samples.
 
The researchers say the next step is to analyze the beverages to figure out just what’s inducing superconductivity.
 
And maybe sneak a sip in the process.
 
—Cynthia Graber