A Fluid Universe:

Helium at Absolute Zero

A report by:

RAdm. R.M. Wey

COSR: SFS-SFC

Research and conjecture have brought about the understanding that, when the universe began, it was a seething super heated ball of energy; When all the various forces [gravity, electromagnetism, the strong and weak forces] that govern atomic structure were still bound together. But in an instant, the blink of an eye, all this changed as the universe began its journey beyond that temperature threshold as the universal forces fragmented.

Research conducted recently has recreated the primordial conditions believed to have existed in the first .000000000000001th of a second. By chilling a flask of liquid helium to near absolute zero, tests were performed to determine if the conditions postulated in the theory of the 'Big Bang' would bear out.

Now, as the universe cooled [according to the theory] defects began to appear in the fabric of space - time [just as imperfections occur as water solidifies]. These defects, referred to as 'cosmic strings' would thus have been greatly thinner than current atoms are; In addition, they would have had infinitely more mass. Should the experiments prove this to be likely, it would solve many vexing problems in the field of cosmology.

For their enormous mass would provide them with an equally powerful gravitational field; Perhaps powerful enough to pull together the first galaxies, and establish the foundation for the current structure of the universe. Now when liquid helium is cooled to a temperature approaching absolute zero [or minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit] it suddenly becomes a frictionless fluid. In this unusual state, helium begins [in many ways] to resemble a vacuum. Within this state, particles can move freely without resistance, and spontaneous miniature ripples [or vortices] have been known to form [similar to the 'virtual Particles' that have been known to pop in and out of existence within a vacuum].

What makes this project seem so promising is the nearly identical mathematics that underlies both the transitions of liquid helium and that which physicists believe took place in first moments of the early universe. Tests were conducted to determine whether the equation for the formation of cosmic strings, would work on 'super cooled' liquid helium and give rise to a preset number of vortices within.If the equation held true, it would give an added vindication of cosmic string theory.

The test consisted of cooling a rotating cylinder of helium to just below the state of superfluidity, then shooting a neutron through the fluid [heating a region less than 1/1000th of an in across to its normal liquid state] and waiting for the fluid to cool. The rotating cylinder allowed the vortices, which formed to be detected and counted; the number per neutron shot was consistent with predictions made earlier. This gives support for other projects in the field of cosmology where super cooled liquid helium can be used as a model.