Metal aesthetics of metallic jewelry. Some metals have specialized uses; mercury is a liquid at room temperature and is used in switches to complete a circuit when it flows over the switch contacts. Radioactive metals such as uranium and plutonium are used in nuclear power plants to produce energy via nuclear fission. Shape memory alloys are used for applications such as pipes, fasteners and vascular stents. Metals can be doped with foreign molecules—organic, inorganic, biological and polymers. This doping entails the metal with new properties that are induced by the guest molecules. Applications in catalysis, medicine, electrochemical cells, corrosion and more
Room-temperature superconductor predicted that it may be possible to raise the critical temperature to above 0 °C and achieve room-temperature superconductivity. Previously the record was held by the cuprates, which have demonstrated superconductivity at atmospheric pressure at temperatures as high as , and under high pressure. Although some researchers doubt whether room-temperature superconductivity is actually achievable, superconductivity has repeatedly been discovered at temperatures that were previously unexpected or held to be impossible. Claims of "near-room temperature" transient effects date from the early 1950s and some suggest that in fact the breakthrough might have been made more than once but could not be