# The Fifth State of Matter
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-state-of-matter/188490
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 14, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-state-of-matter/188490 "2003-07-14T21:59:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CINCDODT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CINCDODT)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-state-of-matter/188490/1 "2003-07-14T21:59:32Z")
I remmeber reading an newspaper article posted on a board in my chemistry class that talked about a group of researchers who discovered a fifth state of matter outside of the currently recognized liquid, gas, solid, and plasma states.
All I can remember about this reportedly new state of matter was that it had something to do with extreme cold and that the parties researching it were either nominated for or had recieved a nobel prize for their efforts. Is there anyone on the board who’s heard of this? I only recently remembered the article and it’s been driving me nuts.
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### Author:  [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-state-of-matter/188490/2 "2003-07-14T22:09:18Z")
[Bose-Einstein condensation](http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/bec/) ?
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### Author:  [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-state-of-matter/188490/3 "2003-07-14T22:18:05Z")
Probably a supercritical fluid:
> **[Going supercritical](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2003/jul/10/research.highereducation1)**
>
> Take some carbon dioxide, add heat and pressure, and something quite amazing happens. By David Adam
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fifth-state-of-matter/188490/4 "2003-07-15T01:35:49Z")
How about ten states of matter?
> [@](#):
>
> 1. Solid
> 2. Liquid
> 3. Gas
> 4. Plasma
> 5. Superfluid – Helium II
> 6. Bose-Einstein condensate
> 7. Superconductor – though solid in form, it has fundamentally different electrical properties.
> 8. Neutronium – the stuff neutron stars are made of.
> 9. Supercritical fluid
> 10. Quark-Gluon soup – pump in enough energy and you force the quarks to dissociate out of the baryons.
>
> SOURCE: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=26766](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=26766)
Actually that thread suggests there are all sorts of different states of matter but only four are common.