Supercool laboratory equipment manufacturers could hold key to future QM research

The future of research into quantum mechanics could lie in the hands of supercool laboratory equipment manufacturers.

Researchers at the University of Innsbruck claim that they have "reached a milestone in the exploration of quantum gas mixtures".

In order to do so, they supercooled mixtures of lithium-6 and potassium-40, containing them within an optical trap which was then switched off.

During the subsequent expansion of the cloud of elements, an elliptical nucleus was seen to form, hinting at hydrodynamic behaviour.

"This behaviour is the most striking phenomenon observed in quantum gases, when particles strongly interact," says Rudolf Grimm, a professor at the university's Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information.

For laboratory equipment manufacturers, the study could encourage the development of further experimental setups capable of holding gases at ultracold temperatures.

The University of Innsbruck is one of the oldest academic institutions in Austria, having first been founded in 1669.