Scientists created sub-zero absolute temperatures in a lab by rearranging atomic particles in a quantum gas using magnetic fields and lasers. This temperature is equivalent to -459.67°F (-273.15°C) and could help create more efficient combustion engines.
Absolute zero is defined as the lowest possible temperature on the Kelvin scale, but in early 2013, scientists were able to create an atomic gas in a laboratory that actually reached sub-zero absolute temperatures. This temperature is equivalent to -459.67° Fahrenheit (-273.15° Celsius). Physicists in Germany cooled quantum gas in a chamber and used magnetic fields and lasers to rearrange its atomic particles. At positive temperatures on the Kelvin scale, the atoms attract each other and remain stable, but with these changes in atomic arrangements, the particles repel each other and thus were theoretically considered to have a negative temperature on the Kelvin scale.
Read more about temperatures:
The average ice cream temperature is approximately 272.65 degrees Kelvin and the average refrigerator temperature is 277.59 degrees Kelvin.
Sub-absolute zero gas has been found to behave similarly to dark energy, or the mysterious force that causes the universe to expand even as gravity pulls it inward.
Knowing sub-zero temperatures could help physicists create combustion engines with greater than 100% thermodynamic efficiency. Rocket engines typically have a thermodynamic efficiency of 70%.
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