Can Helium Freeze?

Question

I have a booked called 'The Worlds Treasury of Pysics, Astronomy and Mathematics. I one part it states that Helium is the only substance that doesn't freeze at Absolute Zero unless there is pressure enough to squash the atoms together and therefore solidify. I have a hard time believeing this because I have always though that everything freezes at Absolute Zero.

Thanks.

Answer 1

First of all
ABSOLUTE HAS NOT STILL BEEN ACHIEVED.
Lowest achieved is 250 pK... thats 2.5 * 10^-10K.
U nedd to understan the CONCEPT OF "ZERO-POINT MOTION"

At temperatures below 2.176 K, 4He enters a superfluid state and flows without friction.
Solids, with their atoms localized on a periodic lattice, are certainly the most unexpected phase of matter in which to find superfluid like behaviour. However, the low atomic mass and the weak interatomic forces in solid helium make it very different from conventional solids. The quantum mechanical effect known as 'zero-point motion' dominates its properties, to the extent that it does not freeze at all unless external pressure (of at least 25 bar) is applied. At higher pressures helium does crystallize, but zero-point motion remains important and produces a very compressible low-density solid.
Although such zero-point vacancies have not been directly observed, they would be expected to condense into a coherent state at low temperatures. And because mass flow accompanies the movement of vacancies, such a state could exhibit superfluid flow.

Answer 2

The reason why helium doesn't freeze at or near absolute zero is because it's actually a boson, not a fermion, because of the even number of protons, neutrons, and electrons it has. A collection of helium atoms becomes a Bose-Einstein condensate at those temperatures, which has properties of superfluidity among other things. It is for reasons of quantum mechanics rather than either chemical or thermodynamics that helium fails to freeze solid at absolute zero. Bose-Einstein condensates are possible with other boson particles, but helium was the first Bose-Einstein condensate to be discovered.

Addendum: If it were true that helium doesn't freeze because it's an inert gas, it'd be true for argon, for example. But argon can be frozen readily.

Answer 3

LET THE POWER OF MY ENCHANTED RING ENLIGHTEN YOU...The Cosmos is full of wonder and awe. We as human beings have not demostrated that Helium freezes because we can not achieve zero Kelvin. Being at 1 Kelvin is impressive, but getting down to 0.000001 Kelvin or lower is not possible with today's technology. By definition achieving absolute zero Kelvin (which is a hypothetical number) means all molecular motion stops. Therefore to get the solid (superfluid) phase of Helium requires pressure for us mere humans...

Answer 4

Helium is one of the inert gases and so is not chemically reactive. In order for an element to freeze, it has to form into a crystal, which entails the atoms bonding with one another in a lattice arrangement. Helium has the innermost orbital fully occupied by its two electrons, so it is unlikely to form covalent bonds, and the electrons are so tightly bound as to make ionic bonds with other atoms improbable. There may be a reactive element that will bind with helium in certain conditions, but getting helium to bond with itself is like trying to herd cats.

Answer 5

if we did hit absolute zero we would tear the fabric of space because volume and mass are directly porportional to temprature and energy and at absolute zero there is no energy left to be taken out of a molecule
no mass or no volume is a discrepancy and can not be achieved
if it did happen we would have a lot more to worry about than the fact that the gas did not freeze

Answer 6

if you uncertainity relation the explanation goes this way-the uncertainity in position of a helium particle at lowest energy remains larger than the atomic dimensions. this prevents the helium atom to be localised at a point i.e.,to freeze.

Answer 7

no gas would freeze at zero kelvin without pressure. in space the molecules would expand limitlessly and become too distant from each other and wouldn't spontaneously coalesce into a solid object regardless of temperature.

Answer 8

I didn't know that (and I didn't believe it,) but I looked it up on a half dozen different web sites and sure enough they all say what you do.

So thanks...learn something new every day.

Answer 9

to solidify matter, high pressure is necessary for atoms to well-arranged in lattice structure.