Scientists in the UK have reported that they cooled a Lego figure and 4 Lego blocks almost to absolute zero (minus 273.15 Centigrade) and made an awesome discovery. You have to wonder if someone was just messing around and found some surprising results!
Not only did the Legos survive the temperature drop, in the process the scientists discovered that those blocks may be valuable as low cost insulators due to their interlocking shape. As you can see in this video, the researchers used a special machine called a dilution refrigerator to cool the Legos, which lost no structural integrity and had extremely low thermal conductivity. These special properties mean Legos could be useful in development of the next generation of dilution refrigerators and in quantum computing. The team’s next steps are to design and 3D print a new thermal insulator based on the results. You can read their scientific report to see the details. Who knew those blocks really were so awesome! – Beth Sciaudone, DTC Civil Water Resources & Environmental Instructor
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