METHODS OF COOLING,

LIQUEFACTION OF AIR
&
ADIABATIC
DEMAGNETISATION

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 CRYOGENICS

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 –18oC.
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.
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 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 CO2 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.
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 LIQUEFACTION OF GASES

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.

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 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.
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 LINDE’S PROCESS – LIQUEFACTION OF AIR

Linde in 1896 liquefied air using Joule –

Thomson effect (or Joule – Kelvin effect)
and regenerative cooling technique.
Before going into detail about this
process, it is essential to understand the
Joule - Thomson effect and regenerative
cooling technique

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 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.
This phenomenon is called Joule –
Thomson effect.
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 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.

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 CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

The compresses C1 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 CO2 and water vapour.
This air, free from CO2 and water vapour is
compressed to a pressure of 200 atmospheres by the
compresses C2.
This air passes through a spiral tube surrounded by
a jacket containing a freezing mixture and the
temperature is reduced to -20oC 12
CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

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 CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

This cooled air at high pressure is allowed to come

out of the nozzle V1.
At V1, Joule – Thomson effect takes place and the
incoming air is cooled to -70oC.
This cooled air is circulated back into the
compresses C2 and is compressed.
It passes through the nozzle V1 and is further
cooled.
Then it is allowed to pass through the nozzle V2
from high pressure to low pressure, and is further
cooled. 14
 CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING

Then it is allowed to pass through the nozzle V2 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 -170oC and after coming out of the nozzle V2,
gets liquefied and is collected in the Dewar’s Flask. The
unliquefied air is again circulated back to the compresses C1
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. 15
 ADIABATIC DEMAGNETIZATION PROCESS

This process is used to reduce the temperature of

paramagnet it 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.

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 ADIABATIC DEMAGNETIZATION PROCESS

The heat rejected by the specimen when it is magnetised 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
demagnetised) 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.

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 ADIABATIC DEMAGNETIZATION PROCESS

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.

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 ADIABATIC DEMAGNETIZATION PROCESS

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 magnetised by the
application of a strong magnetic field.
By insulating the tube from the surrounding bath and
evacuating the tube, the specimen is adiabatically
demagnetised.
Now, the temperature of the specimen is very much
reduced. Temperatures of the order of 0.002K can be
attained by this process.

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