Number 299 (Story #3), December 13, 1996 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein HELIUM-3 CAN REMAIN SUPERFLUID IN AEROGEL , albeit at a lower temperature. When He-3 was injected into a sample of aerogel, a wispy glass gel with a density not that much greater than air, some expected the gel's filaments to disrupt entirely the pairing of He-3 atoms necessary for superfluidity. This didn't happen. A new surprise is the fact that an applied magnetic field does have an effect on superfluidity in the aerogel; it depresses the superfluid transition temperature further (Sprague et al., Physical Review Letters, 25 November). Research on superfluid He-3 in aerogel may have implications for the study of superconductivity since the pairing of He-3 atoms in superfluids is analogous to electron pairing (the BCS mechanism) in some superconductors. (Science News, 7 December 1996.)