jonnyclueless t1_j67f4co wrote
Out of my depth here, but I believe absolute zero is impossible because you lower a temperature, you need something below that temperature. And since nothing can be colder than absolute zero, nothing can reach absolute zero.
But I would defer to a physicist, not me.
PM_ME_YOUR__INIT__ t1_j67in6b wrote
Absolute zero would mean that the particle would not be moving. That violates the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which states that the position and momentum of a particle cannot be known below a certain value.
mcoombes314 t1_j69nu3k wrote
And the minimal energy that remains as a result of this is called "zero point energy", as it's the lowest possible energy state (but not "zero energy")
GummyKibble t1_j69djlk wrote
Is that an unbreakable law? Alternatively, could we stop being able to determine where it is, like a Bose-Einstein condensate but on a macro level?
Tlaloc_Temporal t1_j67quzu wrote
Laser cooling works by adding exactly enough energy for an electron to emit it all in a single photon. This is one method of cooling things down without needing something colder.
Chemomechanics t1_j6a0bhx wrote
>absolute zero is impossible because you lower a temperature, you need something below that temperature.
Fortunately, this isn't the reason, because it's not true. If you've ever been in 35°C weather or hotter, you lowered your own temperature without there being anything below that temperature. You probably didn't even think about it!
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