Superfluid
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Helium !ill "creep" along surfaces in order to find its o!n level # after a short
!hile, the levels in the t!o containers !ill e$uali%e& 'he Rollin film also covers
the interior of the larger container( if it !ere not sealed, the helium !ould
creep out and escape&
Superfluidity is a phase of matter characterised )y the complete a)sence of
viscosity& 'hus superfluids, placed in a closed loop, can flo! endlessly !ithout
friction& Superfluidity !as discovered )y *yotr +eonidovich ,apitsa, John F& -llen,
and .on /isener in 0123& 'he study of superfluidity is called $uantum
hydrodynamics& *henomenological theory of superfluidity in helium#4 !as
created )y +ev +andau, !hereas 5ikolay 6ogoliu)ov first suggested simple
microscopical theory&
Contents
7hide8
0 6ackground
9 -pplications
2 Recent discoveries
4 6ooks
: See also
; <=ternal links
[edit] Background
-lthough the phenomenologies of the superfluid states of helium#4 and helium#2
are very similar, the microscopic details of the transitions are very different&
Helium#4 atoms are )osons, and their superfluidity can )e understood in terms
of the 6ose statistics that they o)ey& Specifically, the superfluidity of helium#4
can )e regarded as a conse$uence of 6ose#<instein condensation in an
interacting system& >n the other hand, helium#2 atoms are fermions, and the
superfluid transition in this system is descri)ed )y a generali%ation of the 6?S
theory of superconductivity& n it, ?ooper pairing takes place )et!een atoms
rather than electrons, and the attractive interaction )et!een them is mediated
)y spin fluctuations rather than phonons& See fermion condensate& - unified
description of superconductivity and superfluidity is possi)le in terms of gauge
symmetry )reaking&
Superfluids, such as supercooled helium#4, e=hi)it many unusual properties& -
superfluid acts as if it is a mi=ture )et!een a normal component, !ith all the
properties associated !ith normal fluid, and a superfluid component& 'he
superfluid component has %ero viscosity, %ero entropy, and infinite thermal
conductivity& (t is thus impossi)le to set up a temperature gradient in a
superfluid, much as it is impossi)le to set up a voltage difference in a
superconductor&) >ne of the most spectacular results of these properties is
kno!n as the thermomechanical or fountain effect& f a capillary tu)e is placed in
a )ath of superfluid helium, and the tu)e is heated (even )y shining a light on
it), the superfluid helium !ill flo! up through the tu)e and out the top (this is a
result of the ?lausius#?lapeyron relation)& - second unusual effect is that
superfluid helium can form a layer, a single atom thick, up the sides of any
container it is placed in&
- more fundamental property than the disappearance of viscosity )ecomes
visi)le if superfluid is placed in a rotating container& nstead of rotating uniformly
!ith the container, the rotating state consists of $uanti%ed vortices& 'hat is,
!hen the container is rotated at speed )elo! the first critical velocity (related to
the $uantum num)ers for the element in $uestion) the li$uid remains perfectly
stationary& >nce the first critical velocity is reached, the superfluid
instantaneously starts spinning at the critical speed& 'he speed is $uanti%ed #
i&e& it can only spin at certain speeds&
[edit] Applications
Recently in the field of chemistry, superfluid helium#4 has )een successfully
used in spectroscopic techni$ues, as a $uantum solvent& Referred to as
Superfluid Helium .roplet Spectroscopy (SHe.S), it is of great interest in
studies of gas molecules, as a single molecule solvated in a superfluid medium
allo!s a molecule to have effective rotational freedom # allo!ing it to )ehave
e=actly as it !ould in the gas phase&
Superfluids are also used in high precision devices such as gyroscopes, !hich
allo! the measurement of some theoretically predicted gravitational effects, for
e=ample see @ravity *ro)e 6 article&
[edit] Recent discoveries
*hysicists have recently )een a)le to create a Fermionic condensate from pairs
of ultra#cold fermionic atoms& Ander certain conditions, fermion pairs form
diatomic molecules and undergo 6oseB<instein condensation& -t the other limit
the fermions (most nota)ly superconducting electrons) form ?ooper pairs !hich
also e=hi)it superfluidity& 'his recent !ork !ith ultra#cold atomic gases has
allo!ed scientists to study the region in )et!een these t!o e=tremes, kno!n as
the 6<?#6?S crossover&
-dditionally, super solids may have also )een discovered in 9CC4 )y physicists
at *enn State Aniversity& When helium#4 is cooled )elo! a)out 9CC m, under
high pressures a fraction (D0E) of the solid appears to )ecome superfluid 708&
[edit] Books
Hagen ,leinert, @auge Fields in ?ondensed
/atter,
Fol& , "SA*<RF+>W -5. F>R'<G +5<S", pp& 0B349, World Scientific
(Singapore, 01H1)( *aper)ack S65 1130#:#C90C#C (also availa)le online here)
[edit] See also
Superdiamagnetism
6ose#<instein condensate
Superconductivity
Iuantum vorte=
Supersolid
[edit] External links
Superfluid phases of helium
+ancaster Aniversity, Altra +o! 'emperature
*hysics # Superfluid helium#2 research group&
http:JJ!!!&aip&orgJpngJhtmlJhelium2&htm
http:JJ!!!&aip&orgJptJvol#:4Jiss#9Jp20&html
http:JJ!e)&mit&eduJne!sofficeJ9CC:Jmatter&
html
http:JJphysics!e)&orgJarticlesJ!orldJ00J;J2
J0
Phases of matter list!
v d e
Solid K +i$uid K @as K *lasma
?olloid K Supercritical fluid K Superfluid K Supersolid K .egenerate matter K Iuark#
gluon plasma K Fermionic condensate K 6ose#<instein condensate K Strange
matter
melting point K )oiling point K triple point K critical point K e$uation of state K
cooling curve
Retrieved from "http:JJen&!ikipedia&orgJ!ikiJSuperfluid"
?ategories: *hases of matter K ?ondensed matter physics K Fluid dynamics