It may not be the plasma you know, but it is also referred to as the ‘fifth state of matter’, a Bose-Einstein Condensate is a state of matter that exists. It is formed when particles also known as bosons are cooled. We explore how it was discovered.
The discovery of a state of matter
As explained, the Bose-Einstein Condensate is a state of matter created when bosons also termed as particles are mixed and cooled to near absolute zero (-273.15 degrees Celsius, or -460 degrees Fahrenheit). Using such low temperatures, means there is not sufficient energy for the particles to move into positions that might lead to distinct quantum characteristics, thus avoiding interfering with one another.
Science Alert recently ran an article explaining that without differences in energy to set particles apart, the whole group comes to share the same quantum identity.
In addition, this process effectively means the particles become a single ‘super-particle’ cloud, operating under its own rules. The publication further adds that back in the early days of quantum physics, in the early 20th century to be precise, Indian physicist and mathematician Satyendra Nath Bose reinterpreted statistics on the relationship between light and temperature by applying recent advances in quantum theory.
“On checking his thinking with Albert Einstein, Bose’s new interpretation became known as Bose-Einstein statistics, a concept which became fundamental in mathematics that allows us to distinguish certain particles from one another when they are in this super-particle cloud,” it is announced.
Further to this information, it is mentioned that Bose would also lend his name to a class of particles called bosons, including force-carrying members from the Standard Model of particle physics, such as photons and gluons.
“Einstein extended Bose’s statistics to describe not just light waves, but atomics, leading to predictions that groups of individual bosons could share quantum states as the temperature dropped,” added the report.
When was this initially observed? This was finally observed in 1995 when a collection of rubidium-87 atoms – large particles that qualify as bosons – were successfully cooled to 170 nanokelvin in an experiment.
This discovery or observation saw physicists Eric Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle, as well as Carl Wieman jointly scooping the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for their experiment.
History of the matter: Where are the states of matter found?
Based on an account or research by Science Nasa, the three states of matter are commonly found on Earth: in solid, liquid, and gas formats.
These states take on easily observable forms, whether it’s a coffee mug, the coffee inside it, or the steam rising from it. You may also know the fourth state of matter: plasma, which is found in sources like lightning, neon bulbs, and stars, including the Sun.
The Bose-Einstein Condensates are titled following the work of physicists Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein – they both predicted the condensates in the 1920s.
In the present day, a team of dedicated scientists with NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division (BPS) conduct quantum science out of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
These researchers use the space environment to explore the strange world of quantum mechanics in ways not possible on Earth and, since the beginning of 2018, they have been producing BECs almost everyday in space using the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) while on board the International Space Station.
“In CAL, atoms are cooled to within a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. These cold atoms move slowly and are therefore easier to study than here on Earth. Also, in the microgravity environment of space, BECs can float, which extends our observation time of them,” concluded ScienceNasa.