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Soft matter and liquids

Soft matter and liquids

Superfluidity seen on microscopic scales

27 Mar 1998

Physicists in Germany have discovered that 60 appears to be the minimum number of helium-4 atoms needed for superfluidity to occur in liquid helium. The team obtained evidence for the superfluidity by studying droplets of liquid helium-3 and helium-4. Droplets of pure helium-3 showed no evidence for superfluidity, but the addition of 60 atoms of helium-4 lead to the observation of superfluid behaviour.

Bulk superfluid helium has many unusual properties – it can flow up walls and through narrow

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