Odd condensate is the fifth state of matter

Matter can exist in five different states. On Earth, matter exists naturally in three states, changing from solid to liquid to gas, as temperatures rise. When temperatures are too high for gas – such as inside the Sun – a fourth state is produced: plasma.

The very opposite of plasma is Bose-Einstein condensate, which requires extreme cold. The condensate has special qualities which scientists can use to observe and control atoms. The condensate is so cold that almost all atoms end up in the lowest possible state of energy. That is a very special state, which means that atoms lose their individual identity, making up one large superatom instead. A Bose-Einstein condensate with a superatom which consists of millions of atoms is defined as one object, and it is so large that it can be seen with the naked eye.