This document discusses strange phenomena that occur at ultralow temperatures, including the mental states experienced by hypothermia victims and macroscopic quantum effects seen in superfluid helium. It also describes the presenter's personal experiences working with superfluid helium films and He-III at millikelvin temperatures in Leiden and Moscow. The document is meant to prompt any questions from the audience about unusual cold-related topics.

1. How cool cold can be:
Strange things that happen
at ultralow temperatures.
Anita de Waard
(a.k.a Sebastiaan’s Mom)
BRMS, November 21 2013

2. What is cold?

3. Three temperature scales:

4. Weird things happen
at low temperatures:
A mental state is found in victims of hypothermia, in
which they go from “cold stupid” to “cold crazy”.
Delusions and hallucinations are commonly reported.
Sometimes, this takes the form of an out-of-body
experience where the victims see themselves from
outside. One hypothermia victim who was found
partially undressed said that he “felt like a bug”. When
asked to explain what he meant by this “he became
agitated and upset”.
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/science/2806/cold_cases.html

5. When you get even colder,
they get even weirder:
• Liquid nitrogen demonstration

6. When you get even colder,
they get even weirder:
• Superfluidity is a macroscopic quantum phenomenon: things
of the size of our world (macroscopic) behave according to the
laws of very small things (microscopic)
• “Typically, this means distances of 100 nanometers (10−7
meters) or less, or matter at very low temperatures.”
• Superfluid helium video

7. I worked on superfluid helium:
• In Leiden, while measuring superfluid helium
films (when I broke a capillary…)
• And in Moscow, where I learned towork with
He-III at mKelvin temperatures
(and put my finger on a cryostat with helium
to stop the flow…)

8. Any questions?
Anita de Waard
anitawaard@yahoo.com