University of British Columbia Department of Chemistry

New Capabilities

Leading institution in quantum fluids research

Scientists trapped hydrogen molecules in frozen helium droplets at nearly absolute zero and watched them flow without friction—the first direct observation of superfluidity in a molecule. When they spun a methane molecule inside clusters of 15-to-20 hydrogen molecules, it rotated forever without slowing down, confirming a 1972 prediction by Nobel laureate Vitaly Ginzburg.

Updated May 19