IISER Mohali Scientists Develop Coldest Refrigerator in North India; Tech Will Help in Study of Quantum Computers

(TribuneIndia) Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, have used dilution refrigerator technology to achieve a low temperature of 10 milli Kelvin or -272.99° Celsius. It is almost 27,000 times lower than that of a refrigerator used at home and only 0.01 degree more than the minimum possible temperature that the laws of physics allow.
The feat will help in the study of quantum computers. “We are planning to use the dilution refrigerator for testing superconducting quantum bits, the key ingredients of a quantum computer,” said Associate Professor Goutam Sheet.
Explaining the achievement, Sheet continued, “At the microscopic level, i.e. when the size of an object is very small, like that of an electron, the physical properties of the object becomes “spooky” and cannot be perceived by common sense that we have developed from our experience in the classical world. Such properties can be understood using the ideas of quantum mechanics.”
He added, “However, controlled investigation of quantum effects in an experiment is very difficult. The “quantum signal” in experiments is so small that it is usually hidden in the background of thermal vibrations and mostly remains undetectable. Therefore, minimising temperature is the key to exploring the quantum world.”
Along with Sheet, his PhD students Soumyadip Halder and Mona Garg had worked on the project.