The document discusses Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), a state of matter that occurs when bosons are cooled to near absolute zero. BECs have unusual properties like flowing without friction. They were first theorized in the 1920s but were not produced in a lab until 1995 using lasers, magnets and evaporative cooling. Potential applications of BECs include precision etching due to their coherent properties when formed into beams.