PH31610 - THERMAL AND CRYOGENIC PHYSICS

Module Identifier

PH31610

Module Title

THERMAL AND CRYOGENIC PHYSICS

Academic Year

2003/2004

Co-ordinator

Dr Geraint O Thomas

Semester

Intended for use in future years

Next year offered

N/A

Next semester offered

N/A

Other staff

Professor Geraint Vaughan, Dr Eleri Pryse

Pre-Requisite

PH21510 , PH23010 , PH26010 , PH27010

Course delivery

Lecture

22 lectures

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	2 Hours End of semester examinations	80%
Semester Assessment	Course Work:	20%

Learning outcomes

After taking this module students hould be able to:

understand phase change and the Clausius-Clapeyron equation.
understand Joule and Joule-Kelvin expansion and their practical application to refrigeration.
understand low temperature phenomena from a macroscopic and microscopic point of view.
be aware of methods for generating and measuring low temperatures.
understand, in qualitative terms the origins and principal properties of superconductors and superfluids.

Brief description

This module builds on the earlier thermodynamic module PH21510. The aim of the module is to introduce further thermodynamic variables, functions and techniques and apply them to practical systems. An important element will be to demonstrate the application and usefulness of thermodynamics to the study of systems other than gaseous systems, for example to liquid-gas phase changes and also to magnetic systems. The use of thermodynamics for the generation of low temperatures will also be discussed in some detail. In addition the special properties of some materials at low cryogenic temperatures will be discussed, e.g. superconductivity and superfluidity.

Content

Thermodynamic potentials.
Maxwell relations, thermodynamic variables.
First order phase changes: Gibbs function and Clausius-Clapeyron equation.
Second and higher order phase changes.
Ehrenfests classification, examples of different order.
Joule and Joule-Kelvin expansion and application to refrigeration.
Pomerantchuck cooling.
Adiabatic demagnetisation: attainment of very low temperatures.
Laser cooling of atoms.
Measurement of low temperatures.
Superconductivity.
Superfluidity: properties of liquid helium.
Third Law of thermodynamics: entropy near absolute zero.
Negative temperatures and population inversion.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
A. Kent Experimental Low-Temperature Physics MacMillan
C. Finn Thermal Physics Chapman Hall
** Supplementary Text
M. Sprackling Thermal Physics MacMillan Physical Sciences

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6