B E C: The New Phase Of Matter :: essays research papers

B E C The New Phase of Matter     A bare-ass phase of matter has been discovered seventy years after(prenominal) AlbertEinstein predicted its existence. In this new state of matter, corpuscles do not go along around like they would in an ordinary gas condensing. The atoms move inlock step with one another and have identical quantum properties. This pull up stakesmake it easier for physicists to research the mysterious properties of quantummechanics. It was named "Molecule of the Year" because it was such a majordiscovery, but it is not a molecule at all. The phase, called the Bose-Einsteincondensate (BEC) follows the laws of quantum physics.     In early 1995, scientists at the National Institute of Standards andTechnology and the University of carbon monoxide gas were the first to uncover the BEC.They magnetically trapped rubidium atoms and then supercooled the atoms to to the highest degree absolute zero. The graphic on the cove r shows the Bose-Einstiencondensation, where the atoms velocities peak at close-fitting to zero velocity, andthe atoms slowly emerge from the condensate. The atoms were slowed to the lowvelocity by employ laser beams. The hardware needed to compose the BEC is abargain at $50,000 to $1000,000 which makes it accessible to physics labs aroundthe world.     The next step is to test the new phase of matter. We do not know yet ifit absorbs, reflects,or refracts light. BEC is related to super assoilivity and may unlock some mysteries of why some minerals are able to conduct electricitywithout resistance. The asymmetrical pattern of BEC is is thought by someastrophysicists to beg off the bumpy scattering of matter in the earlyuniverse, a distribution that eventually led to the formation of galaxies.Physicists are working on creating an atom laser, using new technology derivedfrom the BEC. The new lasers would be able to create etchings finer than thosethat etch sili con chips today.