4 of 4

Write now Article Tools

Super Snot: The Bose-Einstein Condensate

First proposed by Satyendra Nath Bose in 1925 and further explored by Einstein, a true Einstein Bose Condensate was not created until 1995 by Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman at the University of Colorado's Boulder Campus. Science was so excited by the accomplishment that Cornell, Wieman and Ketterle of MIT shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001. But what is a Bose-Einstein Condensate (B-E) and why would we care?

On an energetic level our universe is not smooth. Simply heating a light filament does not produce light. The filament will absorb energy up to a certain point before giving off a discreet packet of energy. In this case a photon of light. What has happened in this case is that the atoms in the filament have absorbed the applied energy by having their electrons move into higher and higher energy states. Eventually the electron will drop down to a lower energy state allowing the energy to be released as a photon.

This release of quanta of energy allow our world to work as we understand it. If all energy were released at once, all fires would be bombs, instantly releasing all their energy. Without the quantum nature of pressure, air would run smoothly over our vocal cords and we wouldn't be able to speak.

All a B-E Condensate is a collection of atom (Rubidium atoms in the case of Cornell and Wieman) cooled to the very lowest energy state possible, a few fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Here, the mechanical laws of the universe as we understand them cease to work and, theoretically become obvious. This has useful applications for the study of black holes, quantum interference and light itself.

My favorite characteristic of a Bose-Eintein is that it is extremely difficult to contain. Free of the quantum obligations of friction, a B-E is free to slide off of or out of almost any container. If you had enough to put on a spoon and a cold enough spoon. You would discover that the spoon was unable to convey momentum to the condensate in any practical way and that the only way to keep the B-E on the spoon was to hold the spoon very still. Even the effects of gravity are different for a B-E and it may flow right up the side of a bottle.

In the laboratory, B-Es are contained with magnetic fields, still a tricky task. If you apply to much energy to your subject with your field, it'll warm enough to convert back into a conventional gas. So far the largest created B-Es have only been about 10,000 atoms. About 1/100,000 as many atoms as in the period at the end of a sentence.

Bose-Einstein Condensates, very cool snot.

References:

www.europhsics news.com/full/26/article1/arti cle1.html

http://physicsweb.org /articles/world/18/6/1

www.wiki pedia.com

Learn more about this author, Joel Stottlemire.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Laws of physics changing laws of logic ?
We want to hear your view. Write now!