Zero-point energy

Zero-point energyis the energy of the vacuum space, the space between thesubatomic particleswithinatoms.There are a few theories about how much energy there is in that space. There is the theory that there is an incredibly small, very near-zero amount, the theory that there is zero energy there, the theory that the amount of energy is indeterminable, and the theory that acubic centimetreof vacuum has a few levels of magnitude more energy than would be required to create theBig Bang.

If you look at the wayphysicsis going, there areatoms,then there aresubatomic particlesmaking up atoms (e.g.electrons,protons,neutrons), then further subatomic particles making up those subatomic particles (e.g.quarks,gluons), and now there isstring theory.String theory says that those smallest subatomic particles are made ofvibrating stringsof energy, and that those strings have practically no actual width whatsoever. So all the matter of theuniversecould be compressed into an extremely small space, hence the Big Bang theory. If this is the case, the large energy interpretation of zero-point energy seems likely.

The term "zero-point" comes from the cooling ofheliumto 0kelvin.Even at fractions below 1 Kelvin, the helium stays fluid with no signs of freezing.

References

• What's the Energy Density of the Vacuum?

Other websites

• Physics: Superfluid helium HD | experiment and explanation.
• Zero-point energy?Archived2008-12-04 at theWayback Machine"Ask the Van" popular science FAQ atUniversity of Illinois.