BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATE

How many states of matter are there? There are four natural states of everyday life. Now there is a fifth, and scientists are still finding more.

Start with what you learned in grade school – solid, liquid, and gas. The next is plasma – like a gas but composed of charged particles (think neon signs).

The fifth state of matter, Bose-Einstein Condensate, is quite special. It is a strictly quantum state comprised of bosons cooled to almost absolute zero. At this temperature, something very strange happens … they begin to behave as one.

"They can no longer be thought of as separate particles, they become indistinct. It's like seeing the whole complete spirit of the matter, relating to the universe without normal boundaries, and at peace and unity."
-Rob Cardinal (Siksika)