Home Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
superfluidity
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Videos
helium
For Students
superfluidity summary
Quizzes
Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
Physics and Natural Law
Discover
VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.
What Is an Aftershock?
Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket
Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?
Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator
The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates
Pluto. The Changing Faces of Pluto. Most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003.
10 Important Dates in Pluto History
Solar eclipse of the sun.
The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses
Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
12 Greek Gods and Goddesses
earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
Science & Tech

superfluidity

physics
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://64.176.36.150/science/superfluidity
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://64.176.36.150/science/superfluidity
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Category: Science & Tech
Key People:
Lev Davidovich Landau
Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa
David Thouless
J. Michael Kosterlitz
Douglas Osheroff
Related Topics:
viscosity
low-temperature phenomena
helium II
lambda point
fluidity
See all related content →

superfluidity, the frictionless flow and other exotic behaviour observed in liquid helium at temperatures near absolute zero (−273.15 °C, or −459.67 °F), and (less widely used) similar frictionless behaviour of electrons in a superconducting solid. In each case the unusual behaviour arises from quantum mechanical effects. The stable isotopes of helium are helium-3 (or 3He), with two protons and one neutron, and helium-4 (or 4He), with two protons and two neutrons. 4He forms the bulk of naturally occurring helium, but the lighter isotope 3He has been formed, since about 1950, in experimentally useful quantities by the decay of tritium produced ...(100 of 1537 words)

Access the full article
Help support true facts by becoming a member.