Notes From The National Bureau of Standards. : New Helium Liquefier in Low-Temperature Research

NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS.
NEW HELIUM LIQUEFIER IN LOW-TEMPERATURE RESEARCH.
Remarkable phenomena have been observed at temperatures near

absolute zero, a region that is becoming increasingly important in many
fields of scientific investigation. The National Bureau of Standards,
in cooperation with the Office of Naval Research, is now conducting a
program of basic research on the properties of matter at these extremely
low temperatures. Liquid helium, with its unique low boiling point of
4.7” K., is indispensable in low-temperature research. An important
phase of the research has therefore been the development of an im-
proved helium liquefier, one of the principal features of which is a
transfer siphon for delivering the liquid helium to an external receiver.
The liquefier, designed by R. B. Scott of the Bureau’s Cryogenics
Laboratory, promises to aid materially in other phases of the work,
which include a study of superconductivity and an experimental de-
termination of the properties of helium II.
At the temperature of liquid helium, metals such as lead and tin,
which are ordinarily poor conductors of electricity become supercon-
ductors with a complete disappearance of electrical resistance. Soon
after discovery of this phenomenon in 19 11, it was found that resistance
reappears when a large electric current is sent through a superconductor
or when a sufficiently strong magnetic field is applied. In 1918; Dr.
F. B. Silsbee of the Bureau staff postulated that resistance is restored
when the magnetic field reaches a critical value, regardless of whether
the field is applied externally or is caused by the current in the con-
ductor. The Silsbee hypothesis has been verified for pure metals in
numerous experiments; alloys, however, are an interesting exception.
In a further analysis based on electromagnetic theory, he predicted that
there would be no resistance until the current reached the critical value;
the resistance would then rise suddenly to one-half the “normal value”
(its value just above the superconducting transition temperature) ; and,
upon further increase of current, the resistance would rise gradually to
approach the normal resistance.
Because this theory had not been confirmed experimentally, it was
one of the first problems to receive attention after the new helium
liquefier had been perfected. Straight lengths of indium wire of three
different diameters were immersed in liquid helium until they became
superconducting. Resistance was then obtained as a function of
current for each specimen at several temperatures. Although a sudden
rise of resistance was observed when the current reached a critical value,
* Communicated by the Director.
410
April, we1 NATIONALBUREAUOF STANDARDSNOTES. 411
its magnitude was not one-half of the normal resistance as predicted,

but instead was 77 to 85 per cent. Furthermore, the percentage of
normal resistance that reappeared at the critical value varied inversely
with the size of wire whereas the theory does not indicate dependence
on specimen diameter.
The disagreement with theory adds interest to the experimental re-
sults. Theoretical investigations on the nature of the intermediate
state of superconductors have pointed out in a qualitative way some of
the shortcomings of the earlier theory, but a quantitative treatment has
not yet been worked out.
Another aspect of superconductivity research at the Bureau is the
behavior of superconductors at microwave frequencies. With low-
frequency or direct currents, superconductors show a complete loss of
resistance, and at optical and infrared frequencies the superconducting
state does not occur. The microwave region remains as a kind of
twilight zone, in which the metals lose only a portion of their resistance
at low temperatures.
At 2.19” K., ordinary liquid helium (He I) undergoes a transition
to helium II (He II) with a radical alteration of many of its properties.
At the transition temperature the thermal conductivity of He I increases
very abruptly to an apparent value for He II much greater than that of
any other substance. This is because heat is propagated in He II as a
kind of wave motion analogous to sound and known as “second sound,”
whereas in other materials heat flow is purely a diffusion phenomenon.
He II also acts as though it has no viscosity, flowing through virtually
vacuum-tight openings and up the side of a containing vessel in apparent
defiance of gravity. All of these effects may be explained by the pres-
ence in He II of a superfluid. The atoms of the superfluid have had
their energies reduced by cooling to the point where thermal motion has
almost ceased, yet the intermolecular forces are not great enough to
produce a rigid solid.
Through use of liquid helium produced in the new Simon-type
liquefier, a project is now well under way at the Bureau for the study of
various aspects of second-sound propagation in He II. Unlike ordinary
sound, second sound is generated thermally and can be detected only by
temperature-sensitive devices. The present work employs a recently
developed pulse method. Pulses of heat generated electrically travel
through the liquid He II, are detected upon arrival at a temperature-
sensitive element, and are presented on an oscilloscope screen for visual
observation. Meanwhile, their transit time is measured accurately by
electronic timing circuits. Several quantities, including the velocity
and attenuation of second sound, result directly from these data. In-
vestigation of the properties of liquid He II provides a promising
approach to the study of the properties of matter, especially the liquid
and solid states.

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NOTES FROM THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS.

NEW HELIUM LIQUEFIER IN LOW-TEMPERATURE RESEARCH.

Remarkable phenomena have been observed at temperatures near

its magnitude was not one-half of the normal resistance as predicted,

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