The minimum temperature in the natural universe is 2.7 K. Laboratory refrigerators can reach temperatures in the microkelvin range. Modern industrial refrigerators cool foods at 200 K, whereas space mission payloads must be capable of working at temperatures as low as 20 K. Superconducting magnets used for NMR work at 4.2 K.
Hence the properties of materials must be accurately known also at cryogenic temperatures.
This book provides a guide for engineers, physicists, chemists, technicians who wish to approach the field of low-temperature material properties. The focus is on the thermal properties and a large spectrum of experimental cases is reported. The book presents updated tables of low-temperature data on materials and a thorough bibliography supplements any further research.
Key Features include:
° Detailed technical description of experiments
° Description of the newest cryogenic apparatus
° Offers data on cryogenic properties of the latest new materials
° Current reference review
This book is a guide for materials scientists, physicists, chemists and engineers who wish to explore the field of low-temperature material properties. The focus is on heat capacity, thermal expansion and electrical and thermal conductivity. The authors report a wide range of experimental details and data, and have compiled useful tables of low-temperature data.
Each chapter of the book starts by addressing the theoretical basis of the phenomena. This is a concise presentation, but it helps the reader to develop a deeper understanding of the experiments. The second part of the chapters is dedicated to describing the main experimental techniques to measure thermal properties at low and very low temperature ranges. The final part of each chapter provides a wealth of relevant experimental data in the form of tables and graphs.