Is there a Limit to How Cold Matter Can Get?

In summary: It is now possible to create systems in which the particles are moving so slowly that they can no longer interact with one another. This is often called the 'zero temperature state.' In this state, the particles are in a continuous state of motion, but they no longer have energy, and they can no longer interact with one another. This is the lowest energy state that any material can reach. In this state, the particles are said to be in a 'quantum state.'"So it's not that there's no energy, it's just that it's so low that the particles can't interact. Absolute zero is still a physical limit that we can theoretically reach, but it's not something that we've achieved yet
  • #1
JPC
206
1
just wondering

how can matter be at a state for absolute 0 (0 kelvin), because it would mean that electrons arent moving , and that they've got no energy.

Nothing moving doesn't seem very possible because there's the 4 fundamental forces ( example : how can the gravitational force of an object suddenly fade away)

So is there a limit of extreme cold temperature for our maily atom-based environment ?
 
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  • #2
Something at absolute 0 means it is in the lowest possible energy state, not that there is nothing moving.
 
  • #3
oh ok

but 0 kelvin means 0 energy right
or is there still the minimum energy at 0 kelvin (the energy that we today cannot take away ; example : gravity)
 
  • #4
JPC said:
oh ok

but 0 kelvin means 0 energy right
or is there still the minimum energy at 0 kelvin (the energy that we today cannot take away ; example : gravity)
doesn't no energy mean no mass? no mass no gravity...
 
  • #5
No.

Zero kelvin means no thermal motion. It doesn't say anything else about other types of energy - that intrinsic to the matter in question. Taking the example of a bound electron, it *must* have a minimum kinetic energy for the bound state to exist. The electron will still occupy a non-zero kinetic energy state in its atom, it's just that the atom won't be moving.
 
  • #6
absolute zero is more like an interesting limiting case then a physically realizable state. Any system will always have some thermal motion however small.
 
  • #7
Allday said:
absolute zero is more like an interesting limiting case then a physically realizable state. Any system will always have some thermal motion however small.

Doesn't stop people from stating what will happen at absolute zero despite their being no proof, and believing it to be true, as I've found many times, OK so a hypothesis sates that at absolute zero x will happen, now prove it?... OK so it's just a hypothesis?

No that's what will happen according to QM?

So it's just a hypothesis?

No that's what will happen?

So what's your proof?

QM theory?

Oh my mistake in that case it must be true:rolleyes: nm.
 
  • #8
Sojourner01 said:
Zero kelvin means no thermal motion. It doesn't say anything else about other types of energy
maybe gay-lussac isn't still valid, but when a gas reaches 0 kelvin (and it cant) then its volume should shrink to zero
 
  • #9
Schrodinger's Dog said:
Doesn't stop people from stating what will happen at absolute zero despite their being no proof, and believing it to be true, as I've found many times, OK so a hypothesis sates that at absolute zero x will happen, now prove it?... OK so it's just a hypothesis?

No that's what will happen according to QM?

So it's just a hypothesis?

No that's what will happen?

So what's your proof?

QM theory?

Oh my mistake in that case it must be true:rolleyes: nm.

I'm not sure what you're rambling about, but you can do a lot of solid physics at "zero" temperature and use it as the limiting case as your temperature becomes much smaller than the temperature scale you may be interested in.

For example, say I'm interested in the behavior of a superconductor much below its critical temperature. Wouldn't it be okay to try out the zero-temperature limit?
 
  • #10
StatMechGuy said:
I'm not sure what you're rambling about, but you can do a lot of solid physics at "zero" temperature and use it as the limiting case as your temperature becomes much smaller than the temperature scale you may be interested in.

For example, say I'm interested in the behavior of a superconductor much below its critical temperature. Wouldn't it be okay to try out the zero-temperature limit?

I was referring to absolute zero actually, have you achieved it? If you have what happens when a material reaches absolute zero? If not can you tell me what may happen or what does happen?
 
  • #11
Schrodinger's Dog said:
I was referring to absolute zero actually, have you achieved it?


This is not really relevant to the original poster's question. The velocity of a material is clearly NOT the thing that prevents a material from attaining absolute zero. Consider these two facts:

1. The Earth is obviously moving through space at a considerable speed, although no one actually knows our true velocity.

2. Scientists have been able to achieve termperatures very very close to absolute zero. From Scientific American, Wolfgang Ketterle of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work with ultracold atoms, explains:

"In the 1980s and 1990s new methods for cooling atomic gases were developed: laser cooling and evaporative cooling. By combining these methods, temperatures below one nanokelvin (one billionth of a degree Kelvin) have been achieved. The lowest temperature recorded so far, described in a publication from our group in the September 12, 2003 issue of Science, is 450 picokelvins, which beat the previous record holder by a factor of six. Two recent Nobel prizes (in 1997 and 2001) were awarded for these developments."

Absolute zero represents the lowest possible energy state of matter. Achieving a trillionth of our everyday termperature clearly indicates that motion (through space) and gravity have nothing to do with achieving this feat.
 
  • #12
Schrodinger's Dog said:
I was referring to absolute zero actually, have you achieved it? If you have what happens when a material reaches absolute zero? If not can you tell me what may happen or what does happen?

Well, I've never sat on an inertial reference frame either. Have you? An exactly inertial reference frame? Why would we ever invent a concept if it only has good approximate value?
 
  • #13
StatMechGuy said:
Why would we ever invent a concept if it only has good approximate value?
All concepts have some amount of "approximate value". No concept has a higher degree than that, although some get extremely close.

The subject of this thread will get under some people's skin, because it's common for one thing or another, to be assumed to be greater than approximate and subsequently considered a "given".

The only given, is that all finite measurements are approximate and it can't be absolutely determined, how they arise from an infinite field.
 

1. What is absolute zero?

Absolute zero is the lowest possible temperature that a substance can reach, at which point all molecular motion ceases.

2. What is the temperature of absolute zero?

The temperature of absolute zero is -273.15 degrees Celsius or 0 Kelvin.

3. Why is absolute zero considered the lowest temperature?

This is because at absolute zero, all molecular motion stops and there is no lower temperature that can be achieved.

4. Is it possible to reach absolute zero?

No, it is not possible to reach absolute zero as it is a theoretical temperature and cannot be achieved in practical terms.

5. How does absolute zero affect the state of matter?

At absolute zero, all substances are solid and display no properties of liquid or gas. This is because molecular motion is required for a substance to change states, and at absolute zero there is no molecular motion.

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