Scientists develop impenetrable gas clouds

Scientists have developed gas clouds that bounce off one another, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reveals.

Carrying out the experiment in laboratories, the researchers were led by Martin Zwierlein, assistant professor of physics at MIT.

Marking the first time that this type of occurrence has been observed, the development was made using cooled clouds of lithium particles.

While these did disintegrate into each other after a second had lapsed, the scientists note that this is a "long time for events occurring at microscopic scales".

The clouds were a million times thinner than air and could in future provide insights into the behaviour of certain systems and circumstances, such as particles that formed following the Big Bang.

"When we saw that these ultra dilute puffs of gas bounce off each other, we were completely amazed," comments student and author of the Nature paper - where the findings are set to be published - Ariel Sommer.

Meanwhile, scientists at Washington University recently developed a 'mind-reading' computer, which subjects were found to be able to control with their thoughts alone.