Is Constellation’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL) Real? The Quantum Experiment Explained

Warning! This post contains spoilers for Constellation.

The Cold Atom Lab (CAL) is instrumental to several sci-fi elements in Constellation, making viewers curious if it actually exists. Unfolding across two parallel universes, Apple TV+’s Constellation presents a mindbending story encompassing several complex quantum mechanics concepts. However, beneath all of its complex science, the show has a human core that revolves around themes of grief, change, and the consequences of choices.

Although the Apple TV+ sci-fi show makes it evident that its storyline is a work of fiction, many of its plot devices and scientific concepts are grounded in reality. The Cold Atomic (CAL) is one such plot device that appears in almost every episode of the series. According to Constellation‘s overarching narrative, everything metaphysical the characters are experiencing is because of the CAL. Owing to the CAL’s importance in the show’s story, it is hard not to question if it is real — the answer is quite surprising.

Constellation’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL) Actually Exists

Like the one shown in Constellation, the real Cold Atomic Lab was also launched to the International Space Station in May 2018. As shown in Constellation‘s early episodes, the real CAL also uses magnets and lasers to reduce the temperature of atoms to almost absolute zero. In these ultra-cold conditions, a state of matter called Bose-Einstein Condensates (BEC) gets formed. The reason why the CAL is sent to outer space is that Earth’s gravity only allows one to observe the results of the experiment for a limited period.

Microgravity in outer space, in contrast, significantly increases the amount of time for observation by freeing the experiment from the confounding effects of gravity. More time allows researchers to study the atoms in the BECs in the experiment more carefully and precisely. The experiment has allowed researchers to learn more about quantum phenomena and gain new insights into how technologies like atomic clocks and quantum computers can use ultra-cold atoms to function more effectively. On a wider spectrum, the CAL can even help unlock some of the greatest mysteries of the universe.

How Accurate Is Constellation’s Depiction Of The CAL

Although the real Cold Atom Lab (CAL) has allowed scientists to take leaps in quantum research, its implications come nowhere close to what is depicted in Apple TV+’s Constellation. While the show seemingly gets some aspects right about the experiment in the beginning, its depiction of how the CAL fractures space and time and captures quantum superposition on a macroscopic scale is purely fictional. The real CAL does allow one to observe atoms behaving like waves, which contributes to the scientific understanding of superpositions. However, unlike the one in Constellation, the real CAL does not make people switch universes.