Modeling the bizarre: Quantum superfluids
Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 05:00
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- More than 100 years since superconductivity was discovered, a comprehensive description for the behavior of a broad class of fundamental physical systems that exhibit the bizarre properties of superconductivity and superfluidity has been developed. Superconductivity and superfluidity are quantum mechanical phenomena in systems composed of a very large number of microscopic particles that can be observed with the "naked eye." Remarkable features of these systems include electrical flow with no resistance, or special fluids that creep up the sides of a container and overflow with no external influence.