Negative Kelvin? How Is It Possible?

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Thread starter Chemmjr18
Start date Dec 7, 2017
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Kelvin Negative

In summary, Negative Kelvin is a temperature scale that is below absolute zero and is possible in certain systems with an inverted population. Examples include atoms in a laser and a Bose-Einstein condensate. The existence of Negative Kelvin has implications in thermodynamics and potential applications in technologies. Although it cannot be reached in real-life, scientists have come close in laboratory settings and continue to research this area.

Dec 7, 2017

Chemmjr18

Negative Kelvin http://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6115/52. How is this possible? If anyone could help me understand this I'd appreciate it.

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Dec 7, 2017

anorlunda

Staff Emeritus

Insights Author

Here's a recent thread on that question.
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/negative-kelvin-temperature-recent-science-paper.662268/

Dec 7, 2017

Chemmjr18

Pretty great thread. Thanks!

1. What is Negative Kelvin?

Negative Kelvin is a temperature scale that is below absolute zero, which is the lowest possible temperature in the traditional Kelvin scale. It is often referred to as "hotter than hot" because it represents a temperature where particles have more energy than at any positive temperature.

2. How is Negative Kelvin possible?

Negative Kelvin is possible in certain systems where particles can have an energy level lower than the ground state, which is the lowest energy level in a system. This is known as an inverted population and can occur in certain quantum systems, such as lasers, where particles are forced into higher energy levels.

3. What are some examples of systems with Negative Kelvin?

One example of a system with Negative Kelvin is a group of atoms in a laser, where the population of particles is inverted and some atoms have higher energy levels than the ground state. Another example is a Bose-Einstein condensate, which is a state of matter where atoms are cooled to extremely low temperatures and behave as a single quantum entity.

4. What are the implications of Negative Kelvin?

The existence of Negative Kelvin has important implications in the field of thermodynamics and can help us better understand how particles behave at extremely low temperatures. It also has potential applications in technologies such as lasers and quantum computing.

5. Can Negative Kelvin be reached in real-life?

Currently, Negative Kelvin cannot be reached in real-life because it requires a highly-controlled and specialized environment. However, scientists have been able to reach temperatures extremely close to Negative Kelvin in laboratory settings, and research in this area is ongoing.