A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that occurs when a collection of bosonic particles (particles with integer spin) are cooled to a temperature close to absolute zero, and a significant fraction of the particles occupy the same quantum state. In other words, the particles “condense” into a single macroscopic quantum state.
The phenomenon was first predicted by Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein in the 1920s and was experimentally observed in dilute atomic gases in 1995, for which the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded in 2001.
BECs have a number of remarkable properties that arise from their quantum nature. For example, they exhibit coherence over macroscopic distances, meaning that all the particles in the condensate are in phase with each other. They also have a characteristic size that is determined by the wavelength of the particles, and can form vortices and other topological structures.
BECs have many applications in physics, including the study of superfluidity and superconductivity, atom lasers, and quantum computing. They are also being explored in the context of precision measurements and as a tool for simulating complex quantum systems and School Management System.
