What is a fermionic condensate?
Q: What is a fermionic condensate?
A: A fermionic condensate is a state of matter that is similar to a Bose-Einstein condensate, but made up of fermions instead of bosons.
Q: How do fermi condensates differ from Bose-Einstein condensates?
A: Fermi condensates are anti-social and do not attract each other, while Bose-Einstein condensates are social and attract each other in groups or clumps.
Q: Can fermi condensates occur naturally?
A: No, fermi condensates have to be created artificially through the process of condensation, the same process used to create Bose-Einstein condensates.
Q: Who created the first fermi condensate?
A: Deborah Jin and her team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the University of Colorado created the first fermi condensate in December 2003.
Q: What was the temperature at which the first fermi condensate was created?
A: The first fermi condensate was created by cooling a cloud of potassium-40 atoms to less than a millionth°C over absolute zero (-273.15°C), the same temperature required to create a Bose-Einstein condensate.
Q: What is the process of cooling a gas into a condensate called?
A: The process of cooling a gas into a condensate is called condensation.
Q: Are superfluids also Bose-Einstein condensates?
A: Yes, superfluids are also Bose-Einstein condensates, but made up of bosons instead of fermions.
