The Fundamentals Of Super Fluidity

When talking about super fluidity it is important to remember that the velocity and heat range at which helium 3 or 4 is converted into a super fluid that exhibits extraordinary properties are vital considerations in an experiment. Every phase of the experiment corresponds to that of setting up a super conductor involved experiment that requires the integration of a mechanism to record voltage difference. In the case of a super fluid, it is observed that the application of direct heat to the helium, in case the super fluid, results in not just the heating of the spot exposed to the heat but a complete heat conduction wave.

This is observed at a velocity as high as 20 m/s. the phenomenon is also referred to as second sound. The experimentation with and on super fluidity involves some really fantastic results and one such spectacular result of the properties observed in the labs is that of the fountain effect or what researchers call thermo-mechanical effect. So how is this effect got or observed? What causes this thermo-mechanical effect? The effect is observed when a tube, more specifically a capillary tube, is placed into a container that holds the super fluid and is then heated.

The helium when heated reacts to even the slightest show of light! Yes, simply by shining a light off the surface of the super fluid, helium immediately begins to creep up or flow along the inside of the tube and right out, over the top. This phenomenon does not happen as a matter of the normal course of things in the experiment. The result comes due to what is called the Clausius and Clapeyron relation. And, this is not all! There is another or a second effect that is observed which is just as unusual as the first one.

The effect is that helium, the super fluid forms a layer, at least around 30 mm in thickness that begins to rise along the sides of the container holding it. The experimentation with the super fluid helium goes even further with the use of a rotating container. The spectacle is worth a million viewings. In this case on show is a fundamental property that beats the regular loss of viscosity.

Placed in a rotating container, the super fluid helium does not do what is expected, which is a uniform rotation in accordance with the angular movement of the container in which it is placed. Instead this rotating action causes the super fluid to act otherwise. The quantized vortices of the rotation of the container when at a speed that is below the vital first recorded velocity, makes the super fluid remain stable and stationary!

The velocity reached is also referred to as quantum numbers for the helium. Remaining perfectly stationary initially, once this first velocity is reached, also called the sound speed in helium, the super fluid immediately begins to spin very fast. The critical speed now obtained is quantized, thus showing that a super fluid, which in this case is helium, only begins to spin at a certain speed value.