Essay Archive - B E C: The New Phase of Matter
B E C: The New Phase of Matter
A new phase of matter has been discovered seventy years after Albert
Einstein predicted it's existence. In this new state of matter, atoms do not
move around like they would in an ordinary gas condensate. The atoms move in
lock step with one another and have identical quantum properties. This will
make it easier for physicists to research the mysterious properties of quantum
mechanics. It was named "Molecule of the Year" because it was such a major
discovery, but it is not a molecule at all. The phase, called the Bose-Einstein
condensate (BEC) follows the....
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