
Probing a Cloud of the Fifth State of Matter (Bose-Einstein Condensate) on ISS - vishesh92
https://www.sciencealert.com/we-ve-now-been-able-to-probe-a-cloud-of-the-fifth-state-of-matter-in-space
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SiempreViernes
Pretty cool, this looks to be the final step in the project to experiment on
BEC's in microgravity: [https://physicsworld.com/a/rocket-carries-bose-
einstein-cond...](https://physicsworld.com/a/rocket-carries-bose-einstein-
condensate-into-space/)

The abstract does a good job of describing why this is a usefull thing in more
detail:

""" Quantum mechanics governs the microscopic world, where low mass and
momentum reveal a natural wave–particle duality. Magnifying quantum behaviour
to macroscopic scales is a major strength of the technique of cooling and
trapping atomic gases, in which low momentum is engineered through extremely
low temperatures. Advances in this field have achieved such precise control
over atomic systems that gravity, often negligible when considering individual
atoms, has emerged as a substantial obstacle. In particular, although weaker
trapping fields would allow access to lower temperatures, gravity empties atom
traps that are too weak. Additionally, inertial sensors based on cold atoms
could reach better sensitivities if the free-fall time of the atoms after
release from the trap could be made longer. Planetary orbit, specifically the
condition of perpetual free-fall, offers to lift cold-atom studies beyond such
terrestrial limitations. Here we report production of rubidium Bose–Einstein
condensates (BECs) in an Earth-orbiting research laboratory, the Cold Atom
Lab. We observe subnanokelvin BECs in weak trapping potentials with free-
expansion times extending beyond one second, providing an initial
demonstration of the advantages offered by a microgravity environment for
cold-atom experiments and verifying the successful operation of this facility.
With routine BEC production, continuing operations will support long-term
investigations of trap topologies unique to microgravity, atom-laser sources,
few-body physics, and pathfinding techniques for atom-wave interferometry. """

[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2346-1](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2346-1)

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throw1234651234
Duplicate of:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23488889](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23488889)

and

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23487769](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23487769)

