Probable Discovery of a New, Supersolid, Phase of Matter

Penn State Univ ^ | 14 jan 2004 | pressrelease

[AdmSmith]

They have promised an animation.

[AdmSmith]

A truly cool discovery...

[KantianBurke]

"a "supersolid" form"

Please implant this into GOP Senators' spines post haste!

[truthandjustice1]

Any practical applications?

[Jim Cane]

Supermodels elicit supersolidity.

[DeFault User]

We apparently have observed, for the first time, a solid material with the characteristics of a superfluid."

I'm glad that Howard Dean finally had his head examined.

[RadioAstronomer]

Indeed! :-) Thanks for the ping.

[stylin_geek]

What fascinates me is that we have the technological capability to cool something to almost absolute zero. I had no idea this was even possible, let alone the fact it has been done.

[muleskinner]

Zounds! and Gadzooks!

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP - SCIENCE - PHYSICS -- ONOTOLOGY

[dangus]

>> "Imagine that you are pushing a child on a swing. The friction of the child's weight couples him to the seat of the swing and he swings back to you at a certain rate, which is determined partly by the combined weight of the child and the seat. But if the child suddenly becomes able to hover above the swing instead of being directly connected to it, the overall weight of the swing's seat would become lighter and it would fly back to you at a faster rate," >>

DOH! And here I thought gravity was a constant, regardless of the weight of the swing!

[witnesstothefall]

Amazing. For my part, I have discovered a form of supergas after a particularly spicy lunch.

[dangus]

Naahhh... no fun without a little friction.

[Jim Cane]

Naahhh... no fun without a little friction.

Check out this month's Scientific American per "negative friction".

The possibilities (as it relates to supermodels, not supersolids) boggles the mind.

[PatrickHenry]

Neat. Thanks for the ping.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Kamerlingh Onnes cooled helium down to 0.9K in 1908 (Nobel Prize, 1913). He also produced liquid helium and discovered superconductivity.

[Doctor Stochastic]

Helium is just so balanced to put a spin on things.

[PatrickHenry]

It also makes for light reading.

[stylin_geek]

You know, I read an article in the 70's regarding superconductivity and from the way it read, it made it appear it was relatively recent discovery. Live and learn. No matter what, superconductivity is still fascinating, along with black holes, quantum physics, time, space, and the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Ahhhh. Stephanie Seymour. My favorite. Even if she did date Axel Rose.