‘Negative Mass’ Created by Physicists

A liquid has been created by physicists showing attributes of negative mass. Yes, it is exactly as it sounds like. Unlike other physical object known in the world, it does not accelerate in the direction it is pushed. It accelerates in the backward direction.

Just like electric charge, even matter can have a negative mass which can either be positive or negative. The phenomenon can rarely be created in laboratory conditions and will be very helpful in exploring some of the most challenging concepts of the cosmos, said Michael Forbes, assistant professor of astronomy and physics at the Washington University.

The laboratory created phenomenon defies the second law of Newton, where a force is equal to the mass of the object times its acceleration. Where mass gets accelerated in the direction of the force. But with negative mass, things go bizarre and when you push something, it will instead get accelerated towards you.

The required conditions were created by cooling rubidium atoms to just a hair above absolute zero, creating something which is proposed as a Bose- Einstein condensate. 

Content: www.sciencedaily.com