The tensile strength of helium II

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6911918

Xiong, Quan

The study of the negative pressure required to produce cavitation in liquid helium (i.e. the tensile strength of helium) has been of continuing interest for two reasons. Since all other elements have freezing temperatures of 14 K or higher, helium can be prepared free of gaseous impurities which can serve as centers for heterogeneous nucleation of bubbles which will reduce the tensile strength of the liquid. Secondly, helium remains a liquid even down to the absolute zero of temperature. Consequently, it has been considered that at sufficiently low temperatures there is the possibility that the rate of nucleation of bubbles is dominated by quantum tunneling. In this thesis, the authors reexamined the theory of homogeneous nucleation and made an estimate of the equation of state for negative pressure in helium. He found that the earlier theories were incorrect in that they took no account of the equation of state of liquid helium in the negative pressure regime. The tensile strength of helium at T = 0 K should be around [minus]9 bars instead of [minus]17 bars predicted by the standard theory.

• Research Organization: Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6911918
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

665420* -- Superfluidity-- (1992-)
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
BUBBLES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FLUIDS
HELIUM 4
HELIUM II
HELIUM ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NUCLEATION
NUCLEI
PURIFICATION
QUANTUM FLUIDS
STABLE ISOTOPES
TEMPERATURE RANGE
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0000-0013 K
TENSILE PROPERTIES