Gold survives 33,740°F heat, shattering 40-year physics theory
Scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory heated gold to about 33,740°F using ultrafast laser pulses. The metal stayed solid despite reaching 14 times its melting point. The result overturns the 40-year-old "entropy catastrophe" theory, which held that solids could only be superheated to around three times their melting temperature.