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Solidification of Helium

Abstract

ON June 25 helium was compressed in a narrow brass tube forming communication between two German silver tubes. The brass tube and part of the two German silver tubes were in a liquid helium bath. At a pressure of 130 atmospheres the tube system appeared to be blocked. When the pressure was diminished by 1 or 2 atmospheres the tube system was open. The temperature of this experiment was somewhat uncertain. By diminishing the pressure of the liquid helium bath the same phenomenon was observed at a temperature of about 3.2° K. at 86 atmos., and at a temperature of about 2.2° K. at 50 atmos. From the regularity of the phenomenon it appears that we were observing the solidification curve of helium. This method of observing solidification has indeed already been used by Kamerlingh Onnes and Van Gulik in preliminary measurements on the curve of solidification of hydrogen.

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KEESOM, W. Solidification of Helium. Nature 118, 81 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118081a0

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