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First Experimental Success of a Superfluid

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the no-it-isn't-beer dept.

J writes "Researchers at Rice University have created and observed a state of quantum superfluidity. Cooled to temperatures near absolute zero, fermions overcome their natural tendency to repel one another. These half-spin particles become dominated by the Strong force and couple up in pairs that behave as one particle. Major benefits to matter in a superfluid state include superconductivity, a state where electrons would flow freely with no resistance, thus preserving the most amount of electrical charge during passage and providing the ability to save billions of dollars in 'lost electricity'. Although the conditions set for this experiment are very unlikely to be able to exist outside of a laboratory, we now know that superfluidity is a concept that can exist. Future research in this topic is assumed to be finding a material that exists in a superfluid state at room temperature."

3 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Ok, I'm confused by bioteq · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I read the article.

    I read it well.

    But on the side (right side) there was a related news story thing and within one of the links it stated,

    "(June 25, 2005) -- MIT scientists have brought a supercool end to a heated race among physicists: They have become the first to create a new type of matter, a gas of atoms that shows high-temperature superfluidity. ... "

    So, being curious, I clicked the link and oddly enough, it basically stated the same exact stuff. The difference, though? It said MIT did it.

    Who are the actual people who did this? Did MIT do it first and Rice got the credits? Am I mis-reading both articles and they're completely different?

    TFA: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/05122 3090405.htm
    MIT Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/05062 4100818.htm

  2. Uhm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I admit I didn't read the article, but superfluidity itself isn't really new. I can easily produce superfluid He by adiabatic cooling... I think the phase transition happens at 3.something K.

  3. Re:Fermionic lithium-6 by nanopolitan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Re: I suppose the main article here is really about achieving superfluidity at higher temperatures ...

    I am sorry, but you supposed wrong. The main article states clearly that the temperature of these experiments is "about 30-billionths of a degree above absolute zero. That's far colder than any temperature in nature..."

    You are right about the other things, though -- including the fact that helium-3 being fermions. He-3 becomes superfluid at 2.6 milli-Kelvin (source: Wikipedia). The truly special thing in the new experiments is that superfluidity has been achieved in a system in which the number of upspins is different from that of the downspins.