Absolute zero materials at temperatures near absolute zero, describing superconductivity and superfluids for the first time. The average temperature of the universe today is approximately , based on measurements of cosmic microwave background radiation. Absolute zero cannot be achieved, although it is possible to reach temperatures close to it through the use of cryocoolers, dilution refrigerators, and nuclear adiabatic demagnetization. The use of laser cooling has produced temperatures less than a billionth of a kelvin. At very low temperatures in the vicinity of absolute zero, matter exhibits many unusual properties, including superconductivity, superfluidity, and Bose–Einstein condensation. To study such phenomena, scientists have
Wedgwood scale The scale was divided into 240 equidistant parts. The unheated piece of clay would fit the 0.5-inch gap giving the zero temperature reading. After annealing, the clay cylinder would shrink and fit somewhere in between the left and right ends of the bars, and the temperature could be read from the scales on the bars. The origin (0°) on Wedgwood scale was set at the onset temperature of red heat, . The scale had 240 steps of and extended up to . Wedgwood tried to compare his scale with other scales by measuring the expansion of silver as a function