Physicists at MIT have spotted the second sound of a superfluid.
A superfluid is a state of matter that flows without friction.
This happens at temperatures near absolute zero, where the motion of atoms is greatly reduced.
An artist’s depiction of heat moving through a superfluid.Illustration:Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT
The Hungarian-American physicist Laszlo Tiszaalso of MITsuggested in 1938 that superfluids actually contain normal fluids as well.
At such frigid temperatures, no infrared radiation is emitted to signal the heats movement.
Their superfluida collection of supercooled lithium fermionswas one million times thinner than air, Zwierlein added.
The first sound propagates through density waves.Gif:Courtesy of the researchers / MIT
The findings arepublishedin the journal Science.
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The second sound occurs when heat moves like a wave, with density remaining constant.Gif:Courtesy of the researchers / MIT
