Condensing Beauty on the way to Ultra Low Temperatures

Huemiller, Erik

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/74906 Copy

Description

Title

Condensing Beauty on the way to Ultra Low Temperatures

Author(s)

Huemiller, Erik

Issue Date

2015-04

Keyword(s)

Physics

Abstract

The liquid nitrogen in this picture is used to cool samples three quarters of the way down to a final temperature of -459 F in a He3 refrigerator. After the refrigerator has reached -321.07 F the nitrogen is pumped out, and put into a storage container, called a dewar, to be released into the atmosphere. Due to the humidity in the room, and the ultra low temperature of the liquid nitrogen, the dewar often forms water crystals around the edge. In this picture a Q-tip was placed across the mouth of the dewar to guide crystal formation. We use the He3 refrigerator to study the symmetry of electrons in unconventional superconductors when they are cooled down to ultra low temperatures. When the water molecules condense onto the Q-tip, they condense from a conventional gas into a system with rigid crystal structure and order. The electrons in the unconventional superconductors we study change from a resistive metal into a material that screens magnetic fields and has no resistance and hosts states with unusual statistics. These states are predicted to be a mechanism that can be used for the cornerstone of quantum computers.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/74906

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Erik Huemiller

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