Fermionic condensates are a new form of matter recently discovered by NASA-supported researchers. The substance was created by cooling a cloud of 500,000 potassium-40 atoms to less than a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. The condensates are so new that most of their basic properties are unknown. According to the "Pauli Exclusion Principle" of quantum mechanics, fermions are forbidden to gather together in the same quantum state. Any atom with an odd number of electrons + protons + neutrons, like potassium-40, is a fermion. However, the researchers found a way around this antisocial behavior by using a carefully applied magnetic field. The field causes loner atoms to pair up, while adjusting the field controls the strength of the pairing. A pair of fermions can merge with another pair -- and another and another -- eventually forming a fermionic condensate.
posted by Marcus Zillman |
4:21 AM
