RESEARCHERS FROM FOUR UNIVERSITIES in Germany have conditioned a lab to register the coldest effective temperature in a research-controlled environment ever recorded-38 trillionths of a Kelvin above absolute zero. According to a 2021 study published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the temperature persisted for two seconds at the University of Bremen's Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), and the conditions that made this possible could have longstanding ramifications for quantum mechanics.
Absolute zero is 0 Kelvin, equal to -273.15 degrees Celsius, or -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the point at which particles are essentially motionless, and it's the lowest possible temperature we could ever theoretically reach, according to the laws of thermodynamics. Some researchers seek absolute zero for use in precision instruments that can test the fundamental laws of physics, while others do so to model something called the Cold Big Bang, when all matter exploded into being and the universe began operating under observable laws of matter and energy. In this latter sense, looking at a system at absolute zero-one almost completely without kinetic energy-would be close to observing the very beginning of physics.
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Our New Moon Epoch
WHEN HUMANS GET INVOLVED IN places they weren't invited, things start to change. The Moon is no different.
The Surprising Drama Behind the Decimal Point
WHEN GERMAN MATHEMATICIAN Christopher Clavius introduced the world to the humble decimal point in 1593, he used it in one table, and never mentioned it or used it again.
Rapid Evolution
ON APRIL 26, 1986, THE No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukrainethen part of the Soviet Union-exploded, sending a massive plume of radiation into the sky. Nearly four decades later, the facility and much of the surrounding area remain uninhabited-by humans, at least.
THE OBELISK "LIFEFORMS" HIDING IN HUMANS
WE'RE NOT SURE IF IT'S EXCITING OR not that scientists have just discovered new \"lifeforms\" inside our bodies. Tiny bits of RNA, smaller than a virus, colonize bacteria inside our mouths and guts and have the power to transfer information that can be read by a cell.
The First AntiShip Ballistic Missile Attack
HE U.S. NAVY DESTROYER MASON (DDG87) was wrapping up a mission rescuing a tanker from pirates in the Gulf of Aden when the situation sharply escalated. The ship's radar detected at least one-or possibly two-missiles moving toward its position at supersonic speeds, each loaded with well over a half ton of explosives.
HOW TO GET STARTED SOLDERING
Soldering is rapidly becoming the skill of a bygone era. Much like the ability to drive a car with a manual transmission, read a map, or write a check, younger generations are learning less about how to work with their hands-and it's time for that to change.
AFTER YOU DIE, A UNIVERSE EATS YOUR BODY
SCIENTISTS ARE UNRAVELING THE SECRETS OF THE NECROBIOME THE ECOSYSTEM THAT TAKES OVER OUR CORPSES AFTER DEATH.
SHARPENING YOUR TOOLS
TOOLS LOSE THEIR EDGE AND BECOME DULL. That's a fact of their existence.
CATALYTIC CONVERTER
THERE'S AN ARMY OF THIEVES COMING FOR YOUR
A BLISTERING INFERNO. A WHIRLING TORNADO. A SHOCKING CRASH
AERIAL FIREFIGHTERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A CRITICAL LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST RAGING WILDFIRES. BUT INCREASINGLY EXTREME BLAZES AND A HORRIFIC ACCIDENT HAVE MANY WONDERING HOW WE'LL ADAPT TO FIRES OF THE FUTURE.
