CRYOGENIC PHYSICS

BY
Eng. Emmanuel Omongo
 INTRODUCTION
• Cryogenics is a branch of Physics that deals with the production and
effects of very low temperatures.
• In the early history of thermometry, ice was considered to be the
coldest and its temperature was taken as the lowest temperature.
• It was Fahrenheit, who first experimentally demonstrated that a
mixture of ice with common salt gives a lower temperature of the
order of –18C.
• Later, temperatures lower than this temperature could be attained.
• The general principle of production of low temperature is to remove
the heat content from a body
 PRODUCTION OF LOW TEMPERATURE

The following methods are involved to produce the low temperature in

cryogenics:
• Heat conduction: When two bodies are in contact, heat flows from the
body with the higher temperature to the body with a lower temperature.
Conduction can occur between any and all forms of matter, whether gas,
liquid, or solid. It is essential in the production of cryogenic temperatures
and environments.
• Evaporative cooling: Atoms and molecules in the gaseous state move
faster than the atoms and molecules in the liquid state. When heat
energy is added to the particles in a liquid , it will become gaseous.
• The Joule-Thomson effect. When a gas is allowed to expand very rapidly,
it causes its temperature to drop dramatically. Reducing the pressure on a
gas accomplishes the same effect.
• The Joule-Thomson effect is an important part of our lives today, even
though we may not be aware of it. Ordinary house hold refrigerators
and air conditioners operate on this principle.
• First a gas is pressurized and cooled to an intermediate temperature
by contact with a colder gas or liquid.
• Then the gas is expanded, and its temperature drops still further.
• The heat needed to keep this cycle operating comes from the inside
of the refrigerator or the interior of a room, producing the desired
cooling effect.
 TYPES OF CRYOGENIC TREATMENT

• SHALLOW CRYOGENICS
Make the objects to temperature of approximately -120
degree F.
• FLOODING
Takes the component to -120 degree F, then the chamber is
flooded with liquid nitrogen.
• DEEP CRYOGENICS TREATMENT
Subjects the objects to the temperature of approximately -
300 degree F.
 LIQUEFACTION OF GASES
• For a long time it was thought that air remains in the gaseous state at
all temperatures.
• But Andrew’s experiments on led to the discovery of critical
temperature.
• The critical temperature is the temperature below which a gas can be
liquefied by mere application of pressure.
• But it cannot be liquefied above the critical temperature, however,
larger may be the applied pressure.
• Below the critical temperature, the gas is termed as vapour and above
the critical temperature it is called a gas.
Continuation
• So, the liquefaction of gases is linked with the production of low
temperatures.
• The substances which are gaseous at ordinary temperatures can be
converted into liquid state if sufficiently cooled and simultaneously
subjected to a high pressure.
• There are various methods of liquefaction of gases.
• In this section, let us see three methods of liquefaction of gases, in
detail.
 CASCADE PROCESS
• The cascade process can be used to produce very low temperatures.
• The basic principle is that when a liquid evaporates at reduced
pressure, it cools.
• Evaporation causes cooling, because when a liquid evaporates it takes
up the latent heat either from the liquid itself or from the surrounding
vessel.
• Oxygen and Nitrogen can be liquefied by cascade process.
• In this case a series of liquids with successively lower boiling point is
employed, so that the desired low temperature is attained.
 LIQUEFACTION OF OXYGEN
• In 1878, Pictet liquefied oxygen by cascade process.
• Later, H.K. Onnes modified the apparatus
• The apparatus consists of compression pumps P1, P2 and P3.
T1, T2 and T3 are the three tubes which are surrounded by
outer jackets A, B and C.
• ‘D’ is a Dewar’s flask which collects liquid oxygen.
 Working
• Methyl chloride from compressor P1 is pumped into the tube T1
, which is surrounded by a jacket A.
• Cold water at room temperature is circulated through A. Since
the critical temperature of methyl chloride is 143C, it is liquefied
by applying suitable pressure.
• The liquid methyl chloride trickles into the jacket ‘B’ which is
connected to the suction side of the compressor P1 .
• The liquid boils under low pressure and evaporates by absorbing
necessary latent heat from itself and produces cooling.
 Working
• Thus the temperature of B and T2 is reduced to –90C. Methyl
chloride vapour is pumped back into P1 and the process is
continued further.
• Ethylene from compressor P2 is pumped into the tube T2,
which is surrounded by the jacket B.
• While it is passing through T2 which is at –90C, it is liquefied
because its critical temperature is 10C.
• The liquid ethylene trickles into the jacket C which surrounds
the tube T3.
 Working
• Evaporation of ethylene under reduced pressure takes place by
absorbing latent heat from itself.
• Now the temperature of C and T3 is reduced to –160.
• The ethylene vapour is sucked and pumped back into P2 and the
process is continued.
• Now, oxygen from compressor P3 is pumped into the tube T3 at
high pressure.
• Liquid ethylene at –160 in the jacket C surrounds the tube T3.
 Working
• Since this temperature is well below the critical
temperature of oxygen (-118 ) and the pressure is high,
oxygen gets liquefied.
• The liquid oxygen is collected in the Dewar’s flask.
• Oxygen in the form of gas in the Dewar’s flask is circulated
back to the pump P3 and the process is repeated.
 LIQUEFACTION OF NITROGEN
• The critical temperature of nitrogen is -147.
• To cool it below this temperature, the same cascade process is
adopted with the addition of a fourth unit (stage) containing
liquid oxygen.
• Liquid oxygen has a normal boiling point of -183.
• It is allowed to boil under reduced pressure and a temperature
of -218 is reached which cools high pressure nitrogen below its
critical temperature and so liquid nitrogen is obtained.
LINDE’S PROCESS – LIQUEFACTION OF AIR
• Linde in 1896 liquefied air using Joule – Thomson effect (or
Joule – Kelvin effect) and regenerative cooling technique.
Joule - Thomson effect
If a gas is allowed to expand through a fine nozzle or a porous
plug, so that it issues from a region at a higher pressure to a
region at a lower pressure there will be a fall in temperature
of the gas provided the initial temperature of the gas should
be sufficiently low.
Regenerative Cooling
The principle of regenerative cooling consists in cooling the
incoming gas by the gas which has already undergone cooling
due to Joule – Thomson effect.
 Construction and Working
• The pump P1 compresses air to a pressure of about 25 atmosphere and
is passed through a tube surrounded by a jacket through which cold
water is circulated.
• This compressed air is passed through KOH solution to remove and
water vapour.
• This air, free from and water vapour is compressed to a pressure of 200
atmospheres by the pump P2.
• This air passes through a spiral tube surrounded by a jacket containing a
freezing mixture and the temperature is reduced to -20
 Construction and Working
• This cooled air at high pressure is allowed to come out of the nozzle
N1.
• At N1, Joule – Thomson effect takes place and the incoming air is
cooled to -70.
• This cooled air is circulated back into the pump P2 and is compressed.
• It passes through the nozzle N1 and is further cooled.
• Then it is allowed to pass through the nozzle N2 from high pressure to
low pressure, and is further cooled.
 Construction and Working
• Then it is allowed to pass through the nozzle N2 from high pressure to low
pressure, and is further cooled.
• As the process continues, after a few cycles, air gets cooled to a sufficiently
low temperature well below its critical temperature of -140 and after coming
out of the nozzle N2, gets liquefied and is collected in the Dewar’s Flask.
• The un liquefied air is again circulated back to the pump P1 and the process is
repeated.
• The whole apparatus is packed with cotton wool to avoid any conduction or
radiation.
• By applying the principle of Joule – Thomson effect and regenerative cooling,
Hydrogen and Helium can also be liquefied.
 ADIABATIC DEMAGNETIZATION PROCESS
• This process is used to reduce the temperature of paramagnetic salts
nearer to ‘0’ K.
• We know that the molecular dipole magnetic moments of a paramagnetic
specimen are randomly oriented at thermal equilibrium.
• In this state there is maximum disorderliness of the system and its entropy
is maximum.
• By the application of an external field, all the magnetic dipoles are aligned
themselves in a common direction and hence there is an orderliness of
the system.
• So, the entropy of the system decreases and there is a rejection of energy.
Continuation
• The heat rejected by the specimen when it is magnetized is taken away
by the surroundings and the original thermal equilibrium is restored.
• Therefore the thermal motion of the molecules is unaffected.
• If the specimen is now thermally insulated from its surroundings and the
external magnetic field is switched off, (i.e. adiabatically demagnetized)
the magnetic dipoles again get random orientation in order to reach
equilibrium which is a state of maximum disorder.
• Therefore the entropy of the system increases.
Continuation
• When the entropy increases due to disorderly orientation of magnetic
dipoles, there should be a corresponding decrease in entropy of
disorderly thermal motion because the total energy in entropy during
an adiabatic process should be zero.
• Thus there is a reduction in thermal energy of the molecules and
therefore the temperature of the specimen falls.
Continuation
• Usually gadolinium sulphate, which is a paramagnetic salt is used. It is
placed in a tube which is immersed in liquid helium bath of about 1K
and magnetized by the application of a strong magnetic field.
• By insulating the tube from the surrounding bath and evacuating the
tube, the specimen is adiabatically demagnetized.
• Now, the temperature of the specimen is very much reduced.
Temperatures of the order of 0.002K can be attained by this process.
Assignment
1. Discuss the applications of cryogenics
2. Discuss cryogenic temperature measurement
THANK YOU