ScienceJuly 10, 2026
rubidium
/ruːˈbɪdiəm/
Definition
A soft, silvery-white metallic chemical element often used in physics experiments because it can be easily manipulated and cooled to temperatures near absolute zero.
Etymology
The name is derived from the Latin word 'rubidus,' meaning 'deepest red,' due to the prominent dark red spectral lines that first led to its discovery in 1861.
In the news
In this article, rubidium is one of the specific types of atoms used in NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory, where lasers cool it to form a Bose-Einstein condensate to study quantum behavior.
NASA is creating a fifth state of matter on the ISS, thanks to an upgrade to a mini-fridge-sized quantum lab
Read the full article ↗Live Science