Space & Astronomy

NASA to create coldest spot in the universe

By T.K. Randall
March 8, 2017

Image: ISS Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola (2010)
Credit: Tracy Caldwell Dyson / (PD) NASA The experiment, which will be carried out aboard the International Space Station, will use lasers and a vacuum chamber to create something known as a Bose-Einstein condensate - a state of matter that can only be achieved at extremely low temperatures.

"Studying these hyper-cold atoms could reshape our understanding of matter and the fundamental nature of gravity," said project scientist Robert Thompson. "The experiments we'll do with the Cold Atom Lab will give us insight into gravity and dark energy - some of the most pervasive forces in the universe."

The temperature of the atoms will in fact be reduced to such an extent that they will end up more than 100 million times colder than the vacuum of deep space.

Unless some other extraterrestrial civilization out there is conducting similar experiments, this will mean that mankind has effectively created the coldest thing in the entire universe.

Source: News.com.au

Tags: Cold Atom Laboratory