Scientists have set a new record for the coldest temperature ever created, and they did it aboard China's Tiangong space station. Researchers used laser-based traps to hold 20,000 rubidium atoms and slow their motion until the atoms reached about 10 picokelvins, or 10 trillionths of a kelvin, barely above absolute zero (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius). The results were reported November 5 in the journal Science.
At that temperature, the atoms formed a Bose-Einstein condensate, a quantum state in which all the atoms act as one. Why go to space? On Earth, gravity makes clouds of atoms sag, which limits cooling. In orbit, the atoms float in microgravity.
The previous records were 52 picokelvins on the International Space Station and 38 picokelvins in an experiment where atoms were dropped down a tower. A great question for students: if temperature is tied to how fast atoms move, what does "colder than ever" really mean?
Source: Science News, November 5, 2026 — https://www.sciencenews.org/article/lowest-temperature-china-space-station
