A majority of people are familiar with the three prominent states of matter which include solids, liquids and gases; however, there are two other higher-energy states of matter, which are known as plasmas and Bose-Einstein condensate. First introduced in 1879 by Sir William Crookes and later described by chemist Irving Langmuir in 1927, plasma was a term used to describe a region of discharge in which certain periodic variations of electrons could occur (Stern, 2004). What started off as investigating ionized gases would eventually lead to more complex experiments and research developments surrounding plasmas, as they gained notability through the years. Furthermore, Bose-Einstein condensate was first predicted in 1924 by Satyendra Nath Bose when working with statistical analysis in quantum mechanics. Bose then shared his findings with Albert Einstein, who discovered that Bose’s principles in mathematics could be applied to atoms and light (Emspak, 2018). These findings would serve as the precedent for the artificial creation of the Bose-Einstein condensate at the JILA Laboratory in 1995.
Plasmas have played a huge role in physics and research development, and can be thought of as gases that undergo varying behavior. In scientific terms, plasma is a state of matter in which an ionized gaseous substance becomes highly electrically conductive to the point that long-range electric and magnetic fields dominate the behavior of the matter. Plasmas do not have a fixed shape or volume and are composed of positively charged, free-roaming ions. This means that most electrons are stripped from their atoms in the composition of plasmas, which leads to no net electrical charge. Plasmas also undergo extremely strong electrostatic reactions and play a dominant role in the process of ionization, in which atoms and molecules can acquire a positive or negative electrical charge when they gain or lose electrons (Emspak, 2016). Photoionization is a common plasma formation that occurs in space, and describes a process in which photons from existing light become absorbed by gas, ultimately emitting electrons. This allows for plasma to become fully ionized, although plasma can also be categorized as partially ionized. Additionally, plasmas are known to be the most prevalent state of matter in our universe, with a majority of visible matter being plasma. This includes stars, the Sun, lightning, auroras, the crystal structure of various objects, and even layers of the Earth such as the ionosphere. Although naturally occurring, plasmas can also be created in a laboratory through a process of heating a gas to high temperatures. As a result of this drastic increase in temperature, the intensity of collisions between atoms and molecules rip electrons free from the atom, leading to the formation of a plasma. The development of plasma and its integration with physics to create the field of plasma physics were inspired by other scientific properties such as electric discharge, kinetic theory, and magnetohydrodynamics (Liley, 2020). Plasma remains a rather unexplored state of matter that scientists desire to explore due to its potential in enhancing our understanding of physics and its use in the STEM field. For instance, plasma could be used in the development of electronic devices, space exploration, highlighting the significance of magnetic fields in astrophysical phenomena, and controlling thermonuclear power reactors (Liley, 2020). These would all be extremely beneficial and conducting further research in plasmas could lead to these developments. For now, the work of plasmas can be seen in neon signs, fluorescent light bulbs, plasma globes, and plasma televisions. Overall, plasmas play a huge role in science and have rightfully earned their spot as one of the five states of matter.
In addition to plasmas, another lesser-known state of matter is the Bose-Einstein condensate. In simplest terms, a Bose-Einstein condensate is a group of atoms that are cooled to a temperature acutely close to that of absolute zero (Emspak, 2018). They clump together and enter the same energy state, causing the atoms to behave as if they were a single atom. Bose-Einstein condensate is not naturally occurring and must be created in a laboratory. It was first formed in 1995 at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics in Boulder, Colorado, and consists of a complex process. Starting with rubidium gas atoms that were then slowed and trapped by a laser light, the atoms were cooled to ten millionths of a degree above absolute zero (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit). Then, the rubidium atoms were held in place by a magnetic field and further cooled in a magnetic trap by removing the hottest atoms. The last part of the process requires you to trap a high-density of atoms at temperatures cold enough to allow for the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate. The scientists at the JILA managed to achieve this through the use of a time-averaging orbital potential trap (APS, 2004). The resulting Bose-Einstein condensate consisted of approximately 2,000 rubidium atoms that lasted for 15 seconds. Due to their extremely small size at 20 microns in diameter, the product could only be seen using a video camera. Since this momentous discovery in 1995, scientists have made great leaps in improving the creation of Bose-Einstein condensate. For example, scientists can now create condensates containing much more atoms that can last nearly 3 minutes. Moreover, there have been further experiments branching off of Bose-Condensate research that have led to scientific breakthroughs such as the measurement of electric dipole moments in electrons, integrated atom circuits, and the construction of nanodevices. In addition, Bose-Einstein condensate is correlated to superconductivity, where electrons move through a material with zero electrical resistance, and superfluidity, where helium isotopes form a liquid with zero friction. Not to mention, condensates have paved the way for new discoveries in optical and atomic physics. A research study conducted by Lene Hau at Harvard University in 1998 has even credited a property of Bose-Einstein condensate with the ability to slow down light (Perkowitz, n.d). The Bose-Einstein condensate proves to be a perplexing state of matter, though it has led to consequential discoveries in various fields of physics and chemistry.