Colds lowest temperature

Question

Colds LOWEST tempreture? How is this figure determined?

If, for example, the lowest tempreture is say -460 degrees farenhiet, why isn't it - 461, or so?

Answer 1

zero degrees kelvin.  a.k.a. absolute zero

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_ze...  for more info

essentially everything in the atom stops moving because temperature is a measure of speed of an atom not HEAT.  heat is different than temperature.

Answer 2

"Heat" is defined as kinetic energy (movement) of atoms.  The more they move, the "hotter" something is.   "Cold" is defined as a lack of kinetic energy (lack of movement).

So, to heat something up, you apply energy, and to cool it down you take energy away.

All atoms move a little bit. There is always some small amount of energy available to make the atom move. . . . .

. . . .until you reach Absolute Zero.  At this point there is NO MORE energy availabe, and the atoms lie absolutely still.  Since there is no more energy available, you cannot tak any more energy away, so the atom cannot get any colder.

The value of Absolute Zero is -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit.  You cannot get colder (like -461 degrees) because there is no more energy to take away.

In practice, reaching this point is almost impossible. In order to reach Absolute Zero, you literally have to stop the atom from "spinning".  This is usually done using laser to "bump" the atom with photons of light that are "out of phase" with the natural movement (energy) of the atom.  The lasers "dampen" the atomic movement, causing it to stay VERY VERY still (and cold!!)

So in reality, scientists can get these really 'cold temperatures' only one atom at a time.

At these 'temperatures' (levels of lack of energy) the atoms do not behave the same way as they do in "normal" operation.  The Laws of Thermodynamic start to break down, and a situation called the Bose-Enistein Condensate begins to take effect.  In other words, things get really wierd!

Answer 3

Sorry, but cybertiberium does not have it quite right.

Heat energy, which we measure as temperature, is the movement, the vibrations of the atoms and the increased energy states of the electrons. When atoms get to near absolute zero, or -273.15, the atoms are no longer vibrate, and the electrons are all in their lowest energy states. But these low energy states are still very dynamic - the electrons are still moving very very fast - and there is a lot going on in the nucleus too.

We can detect the energy states of the electrons, and we can detect the vibrations of the atoms, so we can see when these get to the 'bottom' of their possibilitie ranges, and so we are quite certain that this is the lowest temperature possible. This is not just a guess.

We have also seen that at temperatures very near to abolute zero, things behave differently. the laws of physics that apply to normal temperatures, change. There is the entire field of cryogenics, where things like the superconductance of metals can be found, and the relatively new 5th state of matter, the Einstein-Bose condensate.

Answer 4

0 degree Kelvin

-273.15 degree Celsius

-459.67 degree Farniheit.