Seven lucky physics proposals will be funded by NASA through its brand new microgravity laboratory scheduled to be launched to the International Space Station by 2016.
In the Cold Atom Laboratory, it will be possible to examine ultra-cold quantum gases in the space station's zero gravity environment. This is the first in the scientific arena and is projected to yield interesting results of more quantum information, and possibly discover a new form of matter. Nearing absolute zero, the atomic thermal activity halts in theory, rendering all the ordinary conceptions of the states of matter immaterial.
Conducting experiments in controlled environments, and in this case, in an environment exclusive and possible only outside Earth can contribute to a furthered understanding of our planet which would otherwise be impossible in its absence. Cold atoms can be suppressed easily by magnetic fields when the effects of gravity are cancelled out from the equation.
The proposals were the products of seven research teams' toil including three Nobel Prize winners who promptly responded to NASA's call for research proposals. They readily went up to the challenge when NASA announced its "Research Opportunities in Fundamental Physics." Funds totaling approximately $12.7 million will be granted to the selected experiments over the next four to five year period and is expected to start as soon as possible. It will entail ground-based and flight experiments, among others.
The Cold Atom Laboratory is able to provide an environment where various types of atoms can float together, virtually free of disruptions and allowing the researchers to make accurate and sensitive estimations of minute reactions and interactions. Three NASA branches teamed together to make the Cold Atom Laboratory possible: the International Space Station Program Office in Houston, the Space Life and Physical Sciences Branch at Washington and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
