Basic Superfluids

Tony Guénault

174 pages, parution le 11/12/2002

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Résumé

The author describes superfluidity as the jewel in the crown of low temperature physics. At low enough temperatures, every substance in thermal equilibrium must become ordered. Since some materials remain fluid to the lowest temperatures, it is a fascinating question as to how this ordering can take place. One possibility is the formation of a superfluid state, a state in which there is macroscopic quantum order, effectively quantum mechanics in a tea-cup. These ideas are developed in chapter 1. The book assumes some basic knowledge of quantum, statistical and thermal physics, and builds on this background to give a readable introduction to the three superfluids of low temperature physics.

A Short chapter describing experimental techniques is included. The emphasis throughout is on physical principles rather than technical detail, with the aim of introducing the subject in an accessible yet authoritative way to final year undergraduates or starting postgraduate students.

Contents

What Happens at Low Temperatures?

Entropy, Ordering and the Third Law
The Third Law of Thermodynamics and Ordering
Ordering in Helium
What makes a superfluid?
What makes a superfluid superfluid?
Summary

Liquid 4He

Some Properties of Liquid 4He in the two-fluid region
Elementary excitations and the critical velocity
Quantum effects, vorticity and rotation
Thermal and mechanical effects revisited
Summary

Experimental Techniques

Cooling methods
Thermometry and thermal contact
Summary

Superconductivity

Three basic properties of superconductors
The wave function and electrodynamics
BCS theory and its consequences
Some other properties of superconductors
Summary

Liquid 3He

Introduction
Some theoretical ideas
Experimental properties of superfluid 3He
Superfluidity in other 3He
Summary

Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Taylor and Francis Books
Auteur(s)	Tony Guénault
Parution	11/12/2002
Nb. de pages	174
Format	15,5 x 23,5
Couverture	Broché
Poids	270g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780748408924
ISBN13	978-0-7484-0892-4