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Physics

Extremely cold atoms can selectively defy entropy

When their quantum properties are precisely controlled, some ultracold atoms can resist the laws of physics that suggest everything tends towards disorder

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

22 January 2025

A magnetic and optical trap used to cool atoms to close to absolute zero

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

The laws of physics assert that an organised system will grow increasingly disordered over time until it dissolves into featureless mush – but a new experiment shows that some extremely cold atoms could avoid such entropy.

Any system beginning with low disorder, or low entropy, is bound to eventually become more of a mess. Picture flowers arranged in a bouquet: their entropy will gradually keep increasing until the brightly-coloured bundle…

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