Created anomalous matter with negative mass
Physicists from the University of Washington for the first time has created an anomalous liquid with negative mass. This substance is able to move in the direction opposite to the direction of external influence. This was reported on the website Phys.org.
Scientists have cooled a cloud of rubidium atoms to a temperature just above absolute zero. The result is a condensate Bose-Einstein. A distinctive feature of this state of matter is the attainment by all its atoms the lowest possible energy state, whereby it is possible to directly observe quantum effects. For example, a liquid which can flow without friction, because its atoms are not able to interact with atoms at surfaces, and therefore does not lose energy.
To cool the rubidium, the researchers have used lasers. With their help they made the particle condensation inside the “trap” — a region the size of a hundred microns. To create negative mass of scientists with a different set of lasers has changed the atoms one of their quantum characteristics — its own angular momentum or spin.
Between the latter and the trajectories of the particles, there is dependence, due to spin-orbit interaction. Thus, changing the angular momentum, can affect how the atoms will move. As a result, scientists were able to ensure that they left the trap, as if Bouncing off invisible walls. According to the researchers, this behavior is typical for particles with negative mass.