Superfluid used to make sounds that might be heard in neutron star
Superfluid used to make sounds that might be heard in neutron star
By Abigail Beall
Physicists have sent sound waves through a superfluidChristine Daniloff, MIT
Nobody will ever be able to hear the sounds produced inside a neutron star, but a group of scientists have created what might be the next best thing.
The team, led by Martin Zwierlein at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, listened to sounds moving through a type of superfluid called a perfect fluid – a gas with the lowest possible amount of friction. Although the conditions are totally different, Zwierlein says this experiment can be used to work out the resonant frequencies at the centre of a neutron star.
Theory suggests that the cores of neutron stars contain strongly intera...