![](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cal.gif?w=4096&format=png)
Cold Atom Lab (CAL) Bose Einstein Condensates
This series of graphs show the changing density of a cloud of atoms as it is cooled to lower and lower temperatures (going from left to right) approaching absolute zero. The emergence of a sharp peak in the later graphs confirms the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate — a fifth state of matter — occurring here at a temperature of 130 nanoKelvin, or less than 1 Kelvin above absolute zero. (Absolute zero, or zero Kelvin, is equal to minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 273 Celsius).
Credits: NASA
Image CreditNASA
Size640x341px