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NASA Demonstrates ‘Ultra-Cool’ Quantum Sensor for First Time in Space (www.jpl.nasa.gov)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

About the size of a minifridge, the Cold Atom Lab launched to the space station in 2018 with the goal of advancing quantum science by putting a long-term facility in the microgravity environment of low Earth orbit. The lab cools atoms to almost absolute zero, or minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273 degrees Celsius). At this temperature, some atoms can form a Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter in which all atoms essentially share the same quantum identity. As a result, some of the atoms’ typically microscopic quantum properties become macroscopic, making them easier to study.