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

Low temperature research has become fairly widespread in the country after the availability of closed cycle refrigerators. It is opportune to write a book for students and researchers in India on production of low temperatures and techniques for the measurement of physical properties of materials at such temperatures. This book is an effort in this direction. The first part of the book discusses methods for producing temperatures down to 1.8 K. There is a fairly extensive discussion on different types of closed cycle refrigerators. The behaviour of properties of materials relevant in Cryogenics is dealt with in some detail. Useful tips on construction of cryostats are given. Thermometry is discussed extensively. The second part of the book deals with digital measuring techniques. Details of experimental methods for measuring thermal and electrical properties, point contact tunneling, scanning probe microscopy, and noise at low temperatures are discussed. This part of the book is born out of the rich personal experience in such measurements of one of the authors (AKR). There is an appendix on vacuum techniques. The book can be used for teaching an elective course in Low Temperature Physics at the M.Sc. level. It will be useful for researchers in Low Temperature Physics.

Most descriptions of polymers start at room temperature and end at the melting point. This textbook starts at very low temperatures and ends at room temperature. At low temperatures, may processes and relaxations are frozen which allows singular processes or separate relaxations to be studied. At room temperatures, or at the main glass transitions, many processes overlap and the properties are determined by relaxations. At low temperatures, there are temperature ranges with negligible influences by glass transitions. They can be used for investigating so-called basic properties which arise from principles of solid state physics. The chain structure of polymers, however, requires stringent modifications for establishing solid state physics of polymers. Several processes which are specific of polymers, occur only at low temperatures. There are also technological aspects for considering polymers at low temperatures. More and more applications of polymeric materials in low temperature technology appear. Some examples are thermal and electrical insulations, support elements for cryogenic devices, low-loss materials for high frequency equipments. It is hoped that, in addition to the scientific part, a data collection in the appendix may help to apply polymers more intensively in low temperature technology. The author greatly appreciates the contributions by his coworkers of the Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe in measurement and discussion of many data presented in the textbook and its appendix. Fruitful disccussions with the colleagues Prof. H. Baur, Prof. S. Hunklinger, Prof. D. Munz and Prof. R.

Publisher description

The birth of this monograph is partly due to the persistent efforts of the General Editor, Dr. Klaus Timmerhaus, to persuade the authors that they encapsulate their forty or fifty years of struggle with the thermal properties of materials into a book before they either expired or became totally senile. We recognize his wisdom in wanting a monograph which includes the closely linked properties of heat capacity and thermal expansion, to which we have added a little 'cement' in the form of elastic moduli. There seems to be a dearth of practitioners in these areas, particularly among physics postgraduate students, sometimes temporarily alleviated when a new generation of exciting materials are found, be they heavy fermion compounds, high temperature superconductors, or fullerenes. And yet the needs of the space industry, telecommunications, energy conservation, astronomy, medical imaging, etc. , place demands for more data and understanding of these properties for all classes of materials - metals, polymers, glasses, ceramics, and mixtures thereof. There have been many useful books, including Specific Heats at Low Tempera tures by E. S. Raja Gopal (1966) in this Plenum Cryogenic Monograph Series, but few if any that covered these related topics in one book in a fashion designed to help the cryogenic engineer and cryophysicist. We hope that the introductory chapter will widen the horizons of many without a solid state background but with a general interest in physics and materials.

Cryogenics is the study of low temperature interactions - temperatures well below those existing in the natural universe. The book covers a large spectrum of experimental cases, including basic vacuum techniques, indispensable in cryogenics. Guidance in solving experimental problems and numerous numerical examples are given, as are examples of the applications of cryogenics in such areas as underground detectors and space applications. Updated tables of low-temperature data on materials are also presented, and the book is supplemented with a rich bibliography. Researchers (graduate and above) in the fields of physics, engineering and chemistry with an interest in the technology and applications of low-temperature measurements, will find this book invaluable. - Experiments described in technical detail - Description of newest cryogenic apparatus - Applications in multidisciplinary areas - Data on cryogenic properties of new materials - Current reference review