Adapted by:
Pablo Martínez-Juarez
WriterEnvironmental economist and science journalist. For a few years, I worked as a researcher on the economics of climate change adaptation. Now I write about that and much more.
Alba Mora
WriterAn established tech journalist, I entered the world of consumer tech by chance in 2018. In my writing and translating career, I've also covered a diverse range of topics, including entertainment, travel, science, and the economy.
Absolute zero (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 Kelvin) is the lowest temperature at which matter can exist. At this temperature, all molecular motion comes to a complete stop, signifying total stillness. But what occurs at the opposite extreme?
The Planck temperature. The opposite extreme of absolute zero is known as the Planck temperature, or “absolute hot,” and is a key concept in contemporary physics. This temperature marks a boundary beyond which the current understanding of physics breaks down, leading scientists into uncharted territory.
The Planck temperature is around 2.55 × 10^32 degrees Fahrenheit or 142 quintillion Kelvin.
For comparison, the estimated temperature at the Sun’s core is about 15 million Kelvin. In contrast, the remnant cores of some supernovae can reach temperatures of up to 1 trillion Kelvin. On Earth, scientists have achieved even higher temperatures, exceeding 5 trillion Kelvin during a 2012 experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
Defining the maximum. As mentioned earlier, absolute zero is characterized by a complete lack of motion and the absence of thermal energy. Temperature is a measure of energy transfer. Without energy, an object can’t transmit heat. However, the concept of absolute hot has a lot to do with quantum physics.
Heat is linked to emissions within the electromagnetic spectrum. The greater the heat, the more energy is present, resulting in shorter wavelengths within this spectrum. Importantly, this spectrum isn’t infinite. The known universe has a minimum distance known as the Planck distance.
This minimum length also determines the shortest wavelength and the maximum energy associated with a photon. As such, transferring thermal energy that exceeds this limit is impossible.
A theoretical concept. The Planck temperature is far removed from what scientists can observe in the universe or recreate in a laboratory setting. However, shortly after the Big Bang, the universe may have reached these extreme temperatures.
Still, the Big Bang exemplifies a situation where the contemporary laws of physics don’t fully apply.
Beyond contemporary physics. The Big Bang clearly illustrates the physics that still elude scientists, similar to black holes. In both scenarios, the extreme conditions make it impossible to describe the events using current laws of physics.
However, the scientific community continues to study these extremes and the potential laws that govern them. The long-sought “theory of everything” may likely provide significant insights into this frontier of heat and what might lie beyond it.
Image | Lucas K
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