Dark cavity Schematic of vacuum-fluctuation-enhanced superconductivity. (Courtesy USTC)"> Dark cavity Schematic of vacuum-fluctuation-enhanced superconductivity. (Courtesy USTC)

Vacuum fluctuations can enhance superconductivity in a bulk material. This is the new finding from researchers in China and the US who have put forward the concept of “vacuumtronics”. This is a new way to tune superconductivity without chemically altering a material, applying pressure to it or driving it with intense light.

In quantum electrodynamics, a vacuum is not empty but is host to fluctuating electromagnetic fields in which pairs of virtual particles are continuously being created and annihilated. Such vacuum fluctuations are thought to be responsible for phenomena like the Lamb shift , spontaneous emission and the Casimir effect .

In recent years researchers have been looking into the possibility of exploiting these fluctuations to change the properties of bulk matter.…