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Superfluidity
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Frictionless flow of helium-4 at low temperature.
Helium-4 below 2.17 K flows without viscosity, climbs walls and has quantised vortices; explained as a partial Bose–Einstein condensate.
Fountain effect.
Related to but not the same as superconductivity.
In more detail
Superfluids flow with zero viscosity below a critical temperature, as in liquid helium-4. They can climb walls and flow through tiny gaps without friction.
Real-world uses
- Superfluid helium is used to cool large superconducting magnets.
- Physicists study superfluids as models of quantum fluids.
- Cryogenic physicists study superfluid helium, which flows without viscosity and can climb the walls of its container.
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Frequently asked questions
How can a superfluid climb walls?
It forms a thin film that flows without viscosity to escape containers.
What temperature is needed?
Below about 2.17 kelvin for helium-4.
Why does superfluid helium climb walls?
It has no viscosity, so a thin film creeps up surfaces, which is a quantum effect at very low temperature.
Related topics in Quantum Mechanics
Quantum electrodynamics · Casimir effect · Quantum Hall effect · Superconductivity and BCS theory