Absolute zero
hideAbsolute zero is a temperature marked by a 0 entropy configuration. It is the coldest temperature theoretically possible and cannot be reached by artificial or natural means. Temperature is an entropically defined quantity that effectively determines the number of thermodynamically accessible states of a system within an energy range. Absolute zero physically possesses quantum mechanical zero-point energy. Having a limited temperature has several thermodynamic consequences; for example, at absolute zero all molecular motion does not cease but does not have enough energy for transference to other systems, it is therefore correct to say that at 0 kelvin molecular energy is minimal. In addition, any particle with zero energy would violate Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which states that the location and momentum of a particle cannot be known at the same time. A particle at absolute zero would be at rest, so both its position, and momentum (0), would be known simultaneously.
By international agreement, absolute zero is defined as precisely 0 K on the Kelvin scale, which is a thermodynamic (absolute) temperature scale, and −273.15° on the Celsius scale. Absolute zero is also precisely equivalent to 0 R on the Rankine scale (same as Kelvin but measured in Fahrenheit intervals), and −459.67° on the Fahrenheit scale. Though it is not theoretically possible to cool any substance to 0 K, scientists have made great advancements in achieving temperatures close to absolute zero, where matter exhibits quantum effects such as superconductivity and superfluidity. For the kinematics of the molecules, on a larger scale, which is easier to understand see kinetic energy.
For more information about Absolute zero, read the full article at
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News tagged with absolute zero
First Bose-Einstein condensation of strontium
Nov 09, 2009 |
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In an international first, scientists from the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI, Austria) produced a Bose-Einstein condensate of the alkaline-earth element strontium, thus narrowly ...
Quantum gas microscope offers glimpse of quirky ultracold atoms
Nov 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists at Harvard University have created a quantum gas microscope that can be used to observe single atoms at temperatures so low the particles follow the rules of quantum mechanics, ...
Tailoring the optical dipole force for use on molecules
Oct 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- "Scientists have been working with dipole fields for quite some time," Peter Barker tells PhysOrg.com. "However, most of the work is focused on very small particles, like atoms, or on larger particles, such a ...
Diamonds May Be the Ultimate MRI Probe, Say Quantum Physicists
Sep 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Diamonds, it has long been said, are a girl's best friend. But a research team including a physicist from the National Institute of Standards and Technology has recently found that the gems ...
Magnetism observed in gas for the first time
Sep 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, MIT scientists have observed ferromagnetism in an atomic gas, addressing the decades-old question of whether gases could show properties similar to a magnet made of iron or nickel. Specifically, ...
'Wedding Cake' Images Display Transitions between Exotic Quantum States
Aug 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Transitions are exciting. And at temperatures close to absolute zero, studying the transition from one quantum phase to another tantalizes physicists looking for a deeper understanding of ...
Fire Meets Ice: Superhot And Supercold Remarkably Similar In The 'Fermion' World (w/ Video)
Aug 04, 2009 |
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Trapping and cooling a microscopic clump of gas and then suddenly releasing it would normally result in the gas rapidly expanding outward in all directions, like a spherical bubble.
'Nano violin string' made of vibrating carbon nanotube (w/ Video)
Jul 24, 2009 |
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Researchers at TU Delft, The Netherlands, have succeeded in measuring the influence of a single electron on a vibrating carbon nanotube. This research can be important for work such as the development of ultra-small ...
Coolest spacecraft ever in orbit around L2
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Last night, the detectors of Planck's High Frequency Instrument reached their amazingly low operational temperature of -273°C, making them the coldest known objects in space. The spacecraft ...
New insights, and a new angle, on high-temperature superconductivity
Jun 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A Princeton-led research team has revealed surprising information about how electron behavior influences the conduction of electricity in a class of high-temperature superconductors. An increased ...
Formation of the smallest droplet of acid
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Jun 19, 2009 |
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Exactly four water molecules and one hydrogen chloride molecule are necessary to form the smallest droplet of acid. This was the result of work by the groups of Prof. Dr. Martina Havenith (physical chemistry) ...
Supercooled and supersized technologies aboard Herschel and Planck
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 11, 2009 |
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Away from sunlight it can get very cold in space, but not cold enough for the Herschel and Planck missions, which ESA and European industry have equipped with state-of-the-art refrigeration systems to make ...
Spitzer Telescope Warms Up to New Career
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 06, 2009 |
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The primary mission of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is about to end after more than five and a half years of probing the cosmos with its keen infrared eye. Within about a week of May 12, the telescope is ...
If Spitzer Could Talk: An Interview with NASA's Coolest Space Telescope
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 05, 2009 |
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NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is about to use its last drop of the coolant that has chilled it for the past five-and-a-half years. On about May 12, give or take a week or so, the observatory is predicted ...
Frozen helium-4 may be an unusual 'superglass'
May 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When helium is cooled to around 4 degrees above absolute zero, it turns liquid. Make it a couple of degrees cooler, and it becomes a "superfluid" that flows without resistance from its container, ...
