A spiral through frozen helium

What you ’re seeing here is a spiral created by a particular state of matter of matter called supersolidity . All it takes is freeze frigid helium and a few other helium atoms intrepid enough to crawl through it . Put them together and you’re able to make an unbelievable pattern .

This helix is a watch glass of atomic number 14 carbide , made during an experiment conducted in 2007 . The experimentation postulate a special Department of State of helium . At first , the He was frozen solid — quite a feat , since helium is a gas at way temperature . Once it solidify , it forms a kind of quartz glass , but not a gross one . There are fault in the crystal , and , when the mixture reach out a certain temperature and pressure , the substantial He turned to a superfluid .

A superfluid is an perfectly frictionless fluid . We suppose of fluid as flowing with social movement , but in this experimentation the superfluid did the opposite . The crystal of glacial helium was wriggle around , and suddenly the twist got easier , as if some of the mass had disappear . Due to superfluidity , some of it efficaciously had . Because there was no friction to push the liquid , it stayed still , fall away through the defect in the crystal , while the residuum of the crystal move around it , form a spiral . The combining formed what researchers call a supersolid .

Hostinger Coupon Code 15% Off