So its taking it up from .4 Kelvin to 12 Kelvin. In the sense of practicality this doesn't appear to be a banner event.
I can't wait to use the super-cooler to help with my air conditioning costs in the summer.
No, it's absolutely huge. The simplest way of cooling something off is to surround it in a cooler fluid. There ain't a hell of a lot of stuff -- if anything -- that stays fluid at .4K. On the other hand, Helium boils at 4 degrees Kelvin. Now, I have no idea how it affects the nanotubules or their superconductivity, but if all you need to do to create an environment that's adequately cold is to pump it full of super-cooled Helium gas, we're talking being able to use these superconductors in computer labs!
... or look at it this way...
Assigning a number to temperature is an artifice of thinking about things near room temperature. If you cool something from 12 degrees to 7 degrees, it isn't simply just as easy to cool it to 2 degrees. It's several times harder. You can't really subtract or add heat, you can only concentrate (multiply) or disperse (divide) it.
So heating something up from .4 to 12 degrees is as big of a breakthrough as taking water from solid ice (272 degrees Kelvin) to the almost temperature of the surface of the sun (7000 degrees).
yes it is its huge, it means less energy is expended creating a super conductive environment, also many methods and mediums of cooling said conductors are now opened up with this development.
Actually, it does. The energy required to cool something to 12K is orders of magnitude less than what is required to cool something to .4K.
Agreed. The magic temperature is 77K, then you can cool it with liquid nitrogen, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture. Of coure, the holy grail is a room-temperature super conductor.