Tsukuba, Japan (Kyodo) -- Researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science have found that an iron compound become superconductive, where electrical resistance disappears in a substance, if they are dipped in wine, sake or beer, the institute said Tuesday.

"It is still not known what it is in sake that is the cause (of the phenomenon) but it will provide a clue to the development of new superconductive materials," said Yoshihiko Takano, leader of the Nano Frontier Materials Group at the institute.

The researchers said they first produced an iron telluride compound, which has a similar structure to a superconductive substance. It did not show signs of superconductivity immediately but was found to when it was re-examined after being left on a desk for about one week.

Assuming that the change was due to moisture in the air, the researchers experimented with water, ethanol and other substances at different temperatures and in varying concentrations but could not attain results showing high conductivity.

In March, Takano came up with the idea of trying alcoholic drinks after seeing a wide range of liquors offered at a party given by the institute.

They found that the compound showed superconductivity after it was immersed for 24 hours in each of six types of liquors including red wine, white wine, beer and sake, all heated up to 70 C. Red wine proved to be most effective in making the compound superconductive, the researchers said.

"Our playful spirit prompted us to hope for something fun to happen and we made an attempt that led to this result," Takano said, referring to the experiment with alcohol drinks. "Sake has a mysterious power," he added.