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Thermal Contact and Thermal Isolation

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Matter and Methods at Low Temperatures

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Abstract

In any low-temperature apparatus it is necessary to couple some parts thermally very well whereas other parts have to be well isolated from each other and, in particular, from ambient temperature. The transfer of “heat” (or better “cold”) and the thermal isolation are essential considerations when designing a low-temperature apparatus. These problems become progressively more acute at lower temperatures, and they will be discussed in this chapter. A general treatment of the thermal conductivity of materials is given in Sect. 3.3. Besides learning how to take advantage of the very different thermal conductivities of various materials, we have to discuss how to design an apparatus to achieve the desired goals. For example, there are situations, as in low-temperature calorimetry, where two substances have to be in good thermal contact and then have to be very well thermally isolated from each other for the remainder of the experiment. For this purpose we need a thermal switch and I shall place special emphasis on the discussion of superconducting heat switches which dominate the temperature range below 1 K. One of the severest problems in low-temperature technology is the thermal boundary resistance between different materials. This is a particularly severe problem if good thermal contact between liquid helium and a solid is required, as it will be discussed in the final sections of the present chapter.

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  1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30, D-95447, Bayreuth, Germany

    Professor Dr. Frank Pobell

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  1. Professor Dr. Frank Pobell
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Pobell, F. (1996). Thermal Contact and Thermal Isolation. In: Matter and Methods at Low Temperatures. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03225-1_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03225-1_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-58572-5

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