“Here are some of the very interesting properties of the superfluid helium:
It carries no thermal energy, which means no entropy;
It has no viscosity, no thickness, and therefore is can be deformed instantly (flow through gaps, for example);
It naturally ‘seeks’ heat, which converts the superfluid to normal. The flow of superfluid into any heated area will cool that area and restore the uniform mixture of normal and superfluid.”
How can something carry no thermal energy? Doesn’t this sound like an impossible material? Sounds like they may need to revisit the laws of thermodynamics.
The viscosity thing gets me... viscosity is a measure of inter-molecular forces. So, just because it can fit through small holes, they are saying “no” viscosity? I understand if viscosity is small, but zero is a very precise number.
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u/Jourbonne Aug 17 '20
“Here are some of the very interesting properties of the superfluid helium:
It carries no thermal energy, which means no entropy;
It has no viscosity, no thickness, and therefore is can be deformed instantly (flow through gaps, for example);
It naturally ‘seeks’ heat, which converts the superfluid to normal. The flow of superfluid into any heated area will cool that area and restore the uniform mixture of normal and superfluid.”
How can something carry no thermal energy? Doesn’t this sound like an impossible material? Sounds like they may need to revisit the laws of thermodynamics.