Abstract
Of all the cryogenic fluids, helium exhibits behavior that most nearly approximates that of an ideal fluid. This fact is caused mostly by the weak intermolecular potential that helium enjoys. It further manifests itself in the fact that 4He has the lowest critical point of all fluids, T c = 5.195 K, p c = 0.227 MPa and ρ c = 69.7 kg/m3. As a result of this near ideality, much of the behavior of gaseous and even liquid helium above the superfluid transition can be treated in terms of classical models.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
R. D. McCarty, Thermophysical Properties of Helium-4 from 2 to 1500 K with Pressures to 1000 Atmospheres, NBS Technical Note 631, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1972 and R. D. McCarty, Thermodynamic Properties of Helium-4 from 2 to 1500 K at Pressures to 108 Pa, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 2, 923 (1973).
J. O. Hirschfelder, C. F. Curtiss, and R. B. Bird, Molecular Theory of Gases and Liquids, Wiley, New York, 1954.
J. S. Rowlinson, Liquids and Liquid Mixtures, 2nd ed., Plenum Press, New York, 1969.
W. E. Keller, Helium-3 and Helium-4, Plenum Press, New York, 1969.
K. Hwang, Statistical Mechanics, Wiley, New York, 1963.
E. A. Guggenheim, Thermodynamics, North Holland Publishing, Amsterdam (1977).
Values obtained from REFPROP® code: http://www.nist.gov/srd/nist23.htm
HEPAK database software: http://www.htess.com/hepak.htm
E. C. Kerr and R. D. Taylor, The Molar Volume and Expansion Coefficient of Liquid 4He, Ann. Phys. 26, 292 (1964).
M. W. Zemansky, Heat and Thermodynamics, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968, p. 368
Further Readings
K. R. Atkins, Liquid Helium, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, England, 1959.
E. A. Guggenheim, Thermodynamics, North Holland Publishing, Amsterdam (1977).
J. O. Hirschfelder, C. F. Curtiss, and R. B. Bird, Molecular Theory of Gases and Liquids, Wiley, New York, 1954.
K. Hwang, Statistical Mechanics, Wiley, New York, 1963.
R. T. Jacobsen, S. G. Penoncello and E. G. Lemmon, Thermodynamic Properties of Cryogenic Fluids, Plenum Press, New York, 1997.
W. H. Keesom, Helium, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1942.
W. E. Keller, Helium-3 and Helium-4, Plenum Press, New York, 1969.
C. Kittel, Elementary Statistical Physics, Wiley, New York, 1958.
J. S. Rowlinson, Liquids and Liquid Mixtures, 2nd ed., Plenum Press, New York, 1969.
A. J. Walton, Three Phases of Matter, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1983.
M. W. Zemansky, Heat and Thermodynamics, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Van Sciver, S.W. (2012). Helium as a Classical Fluid. In: Helium Cryogenics. International Cryogenics Monograph Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9979-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9979-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-9978-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-9979-5
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)