On a hot day, some might wish they could get the temperature down a bit. They might not wish it to be as cold as, say absolute zero, but there are many scientists who are interested in doing just that. For those who are curious, absolute zero clocks in at around minus 460 degrees Fahrenheit. This engaging website is meant to serve as a complementary resource to the two-part series that recently aired on NOVA on this engaging topic. Visitors can start by watching a short preview of the program, and then continuing on to look over some of the special interactive features on the site. All told, there are ten different features, including "A Sense of Scale", "How Low Can You Go?", and "Milestones in Cold Research". The "Milestones in Cold Research" is a great place to start, as it's an interactive timeline that chronicles the "netherworld of extraordinarily low temperatures" as investigated by everyone from Galileo to current researchers. Of course, there are also more playful features here, such as "The Ice Trade", which asks users to dispatch ships loaded with natural ice to Florida, Brazil, and India.
Comments