Quantum Cooling to (Near) Absolute Zero

Getting down to liquid helium temperatures (4K) may be fairly straight forward, but cooling below that requires taking advantage of quantum phenomena. In this video Associate Professor Andrea Morello from the University of New South Wales explains how ‘zero-point motion’ makes it possible to use Helium-3 and Helium-4 in a dilution fridge to get down to only thousandths of degrees above absolute zero.

Superfluid Helium leaking through container

Helium becomes superfluid and displays amazing properties.

Ben Miller experiments with superfluid helium – Horizon: What is One Degree?

As part of his quest to understand what one degree of temeprature really is, Ben Miller visits Oxford’s Clarendon Laboratory. Here scientists produce temperatures just a few degrees above absolute zero. Ben Miller explores the bizarre effects of these temperatures on helium.

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