Bose-Einstein Condensate: The 'Fifth State of Matter'
If you ask someone who isn’t well-versed in physics what the fifth state of matter is, they’ll probably say ice or steam, because the other states of matter — solid, liquid and gas — are more familiar to most people. However, if you were to ask that same person if they had heard of Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC), they might not have an answer right away.
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What is Bose-Einstein Condensate
A Bose-Einstein condensate is a system with a large number of bosons occupying the same energy state. It's created by cooling atoms to temperatures close to absolute zero and then waiting for them to enter the same state. Typically, this only happens in superfluid helium or when lasers are used to slow down the particles until they're almost not moving at all.
What makes BEC special is that it exhibits wave particle duality where waves behave like particles and particles behave like waves. Scientists use this phenomenon to study quantum mechanics, including many phenomena that don't apply to other types of matter, such as superconductivity and superfluidity.
How do you make a BEC?
In 1995, physicists produced a supersolid state with two types of atoms - solid oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen is the simplest atom, which means that it has only one proton and one electron. Solid oxygen, on the other hand, has eight electrons to pair up with eight protons.
These two types of atoms have different properties; one is solid while the other is liquid. The physicists were able to merge these substances together using an experimental process called evaporative cooling. Evaporative cooling works by slowly removing energy from a liquid until its temperature drops below its freezing point and it turns into a solid substance called ice.
Applications for BEC's
In the past, the conditions for creating a BEC have not been controllable or reliable enough for many experiments. However, in recent years scientists at the MIT Cryogenic Storage Ring and Levitating Electron Experiment have been able to create them with up to four hundred times more precision than ever before. If their work continues to progress as they hope it will, they hope to use these condensates in future studies of quantum phenomena, like superconductivity and superfluidity. The BEC could help physicists better understand how electricity moves through space with no resistance--known as superconductivity--or why liquid helium can stay cold enough to liquefy until 2026.
Can there be other 'fifth states of matter'?
Theoretically, if two things have the same temperature and pressure, it is possible to create a fifth state of matter. All you need to do is take the two items and put them together; they'll mix until they reach the same conditions as one another.
How can you get involved in science?
Being a part of science doesn't just mean doing the day-to-day tasks. You can be a scientist too! One way to become involved in science is to volunteer at your local museum. They need volunteers who can serve as greeters, audiovisual specialists, information clerks, and more. By volunteering you'll get to see what it's like on the other side of the museum! You might also want to join your school's Science Fair Committee or Science Olympiad team. Many companies offer a variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) internships for college students--both paid and unpaid.