The reason Bose-Einstein condensates may prove useful outside the laboratory is that they are to matter what a laser is to light: all their constituent particles march in step.
Since they were first made in 1995, Bose-Einstein condensates have become commonplace as experimental tools. (They are particularly valued for their ability to slow the speed of light all the way down to zero.) Dr Steinhauer and his colleagues created a condensate out of a gas of rubidium atoms held in a magnetic trap.