Physicists consider the temperature range near absolute zero to be a particularly exciting area for research. Thermal fluctuations are reduced to a minimum. The laws of quantum physics come into play and reveal special properties of materials. Electric current then flows freely without any resistance.

Another example is a phenomenon called superfluidity: Individual atoms fuse into a collective state and move past each other without friction.

These extremely low temperatures are also required to research and harness quantum effects for quantum computing