Astronauts aboard the International Space Station managed to produce exotic matter, which consists of an ultra-cold substance that is neither solid, liquid, gas or plasma, called ‘ Bose-Einstein condensate‘(BEC).
–
“This technological finding will allow us to investigate new aspects of fundamental physics, since this new substance moves between the classical and the quantum world,” said the scientists.
–
Scientists believe BECs contain key clues about Mysterious phenomena like dark energy, the unknown energy believed to be behind the accelerated expansion of the Universe.
–
The experiment was carried out at the ‘Cold Atom Laboratory’ which has been inside the International Space Station since 2018 and where rubidium and potassium atoms are cooled in a vacuum chamber, using laser light to slow down their movement.
–
“Microgravity allows us to confine atoms with much weaker forces, since we don’t have to support them against gravity,” he told AFP Robert Thompson of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
–
This little-known exotic substance on our planet is considered the fifth state of matter and it crosses the border between the macroscopic world, governed by classical physics, and the microscopic world, governed by quantum mechanics. Thus, these strange condensates can offer fundamental insights into quantum mechanics, though one obstacle to gravity is precisely measured: gravity.
–
A revolution out of this world
According to experts, the experiment conducted by astronauts on the International Space Station used the microgravity of space to generate and study matter in ways that would not be possible on Earth.
–
” The results will change our understanding of physics at a fundamental level.“they noted.
–
Astronauts discovered some differences between the properties of this exotic matter in microgravity conditions and those observed on Earth. A particular case of the finding was the so-called ‘free expansion time’, in which atoms float after turning off the confinement traps scientists use.
–
BECs in ground labs typically last a few milliseconds before dissipating, but on board the Space Station they lasted more than a second, offering the team an unprecedented opportunity to study its properties.
–
Microgravity also allowed atoms to be manipulated by weaker magnetic fields, speeding up their cooling and allowing for clearer images.
–
According to the researchers, the success of these initial experiments in space shows that possible studies with ultra-cold atomic gases can be facilitated, including “new exclusive microgravity traps, atomic laser sources, few-body physics and atomic interferometry techniques.”
—
