Timeline of low-temperature technology
Encyclopedia
The following is a timeline
of low-temperature
technology and cryogenic
technology (refrigeration
down to –150 °C, –238 °F or 123 K and cryogenics).
Timeline
A timeline is a way of displaying a list of events in chronological order, sometimes described as a project artifact . It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labeled with dates alongside itself and events labeled on points where they would have happened.-Uses of timelines:Timelines...
of low-temperature
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
technology and cryogenic
Cryogenics
In physics, cryogenics is the study of the production of very low temperature and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. A person who studies elements under extremely cold temperature is called a cryogenicist. Rather than the relative temperature scales of Celsius and Fahrenheit,...
technology (refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
down to –150 °C, –238 °F or 123 K and cryogenics).
16th century BCE – 17th century CE
- 1700 BCE – Zimri-Lin, ruler of Mari in Syria commanded the construction of an one of the first ice houses near the Euphrate, additional ice houses built until 17th century CE, i.e. by Tj'n Sje Hwang-ti, ...
- 500 BCE – The yakhchalYakhchalYakhchāl is an ancient type of refrigerator. The word also means "glacier" in Persian.In 400 BC Persian engineers had already mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert....
(meaning "ice pit" in Persian;) is an ancient Persian type of refrigerator. The structure was formed from a mortar resistant to heat transmission, in the shape of a dome. Snow and ice was stored beneath the ground, effectively allowing access to ice even in hot months and allowing for prolonged food preservation. Often a badgir was coupled with the yakhchalYakhchalYakhchāl is an ancient type of refrigerator. The word also means "glacier" in Persian.In 400 BC Persian engineers had already mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert....
in order to cool the refrigerator even further.
17th century CE
- 1650 – Otto von GuerickeOtto von GuerickeOtto von Guericke was a German scientist, inventor, and politician...
designed and built the world's first vacuum pumpVacuum pumpA vacuum pump is a device that removes gas molecules from a sealed volume in order to leave behind a partial vacuum. The first vacuum pump was invented in 1650 by Otto von Guericke.- Types :Pumps can be broadly categorized according to three techniques:...
and created the world's first ever vacuumVacuumIn everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
known as the Magdeburg hemispheresMagdeburg hemispheresThe Magdeburg hemispheres are a pair of large copper hemispheres with mating rims. When the rims were sealed with grease and the air was pumped out, the sphere contained a vacuum and could not be pulled apart by teams of horses...
to disprove AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's long-held supposition that 'Nature abhors a vacuum'. - 1656 – Robert BoyleRobert BoyleRobert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
and Robert HookeRobert HookeRobert Hooke FRS was an English natural philosopher, architect and polymath.His adult life comprised three distinct periods: as a scientific inquirer lacking money; achieving great wealth and standing through his reputation for hard work and scrupulous honesty following the great fire of 1666, but...
built an air pumpAir pumpAn air pump is a device for pushing air. Examples include a bicycle pump, pumps that are used to aerate an aquarium or a pond via an airstone; a gas compressor used to power a pneumatic tool, air horn or pipe organ; a bellows used to encourage a fire; and a vacuum pump.The first effective air pump...
on this design. - 1662 – Boyle's lawBoyle's lawBoyle's law is one of many gas laws and a special case of the ideal gas law. Boyle's law describes the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if the temperature is kept constant within a closed system...
(gas law relating pressure and volume) is demonstrated using a vacuum pumpVacuum pumpA vacuum pump is a device that removes gas molecules from a sealed volume in order to leave behind a partial vacuum. The first vacuum pump was invented in 1650 by Otto von Guericke.- Types :Pumps can be broadly categorized according to three techniques:... - 1665 – Boyle theorizes a minimum temperature in New Experiments and Observations touching Cold.
- 1679 – Denis PapinDenis PapinDenis Papin was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the steam engine and of the pressure cooker.-Life in France:...
– safety valveSafety valveA safety valve is a valve mechanism for the automatic release of a substance from a boiler, pressure vessel, or other system when the pressure or temperature exceeds preset limits....
18th century CE
- 1702 – Guillaume AmontonsGuillaume AmontonsGuillaume Amontons was a French scientific instrument inventor and physicist. He was one of the pioneers in tribology, apart from Leonardo da Vinci, John Theophilus Desaguliers, Leonard Euler and Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.-Life:Guillaume was born in Paris, France. His father was a lawyer from...
first calculates absolute zero to be −240 °C using an air thermometer, theorizing at this point the gas would reach zero volume and zero pressure. - 1756 – The first documented public demonstration of artificial refrigerationRefrigerationRefrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
by William CullenWilliam CullenWilliam Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and one of the most important professors at the Edinburgh Medical School, during its heyday as the leading center of medical education in the English-speaking world.Cullen was also a central figure in the... - 1782 – Antoine LavoisierAntoine LavoisierAntoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the "father of modern chemistry", was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
and Pierre-Simon LaplacePierre-Simon LaplacePierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace was a French mathematician and astronomer whose work was pivotal to the development of mathematical astronomy and statistics. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five volume Mécanique Céleste...
invent the ice-calorimeterCalorimetryCalorimetry is the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes. Calorimetry is performed with a calorimeter. The word calorimetry is derived from the Latin word calor, meaning heat... - 1784 – Gaspard MongeGaspard MongeGaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse was a French mathematician, revolutionary, and was inventor of descriptive geometry. During the French Revolution, he was involved in the complete reorganization of the educational system, founding the École Polytechnique...
liquefied the first gas producing liquid sulfur dioxideSulfur dioxideSulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
. - 1787 – Charles's lawCharles's lawCharles' law is an experimental gas law which describes how gases tend to expand when heated. It was first published by French natural philosopher Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac in 1802, although he credited the discovery to unpublished work from the 1780s by Jacques Charles...
(Gas law, relating volume and temperature)
19th century CE
- 1802 – John DaltonJohn DaltonJohn Dalton FRS was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. He is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory, and his research into colour blindness .-Early life:John Dalton was born into a Quaker family at Eaglesfield, near Cockermouth, Cumberland,...
wrote "the reducibility of all elastic fluids of whatever kind, into liquids" - 1802 – Gay-Lussac's lawGay-Lussac's lawThe expression Gay-Lussac's law is used for each of the two relationships named after the French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and which concern the properties of gases, though it is more usually applied to his law of combining volumes, the first listed here...
(Gas law, relating temperature and pressure). - 1803 – Domestic ice boxIce BoxThe Ice Box is a 5,010-seat multi-purpose arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was adapted for hockey upon the Lincoln Stars' arrival in 1997. The Ice Box is located at 1800 State Fair Park Drive, on the Nebraska State Fair grounds....
- 1803 – Thomas Moore of Baltimore, Md. received a patent on refrigeration.
- 1805 – Oliver EvansOliver EvansOliver Evans was an American inventor. Evans was born in Newport, Delaware to a family of Welsh settlers. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a wheelwright....
designed the first closed circuit refrigeration machine based on the vapor-compression refrigerationVapor-compression refrigerationVapor-compression refrigeration is one of the many refrigeration cycles available for use. It has been and is the most widely used method for air-conditioning of large public buildings, offices, private residences, hotels, hospitals, theaters, restaurants and automobiles...
cycle. - 1809 – Jacob PerkinsJacob PerkinsJacob Perkins was an Anglo-American inventor, mechanical engineer and physicist. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Perkins was apprenticed to a goldsmith...
patented the first refrigerating machine - 1810 – John LeslieJohn Leslie (physicist)Sir John Leslie was a Scottish mathematician and physicist best remembered for his research into heat.Leslie gave the first modern account of capillary action in 1802 and froze water using an air-pump in 1810, the first artificial production of ice.In 1804, he experimented with radiant heat using...
freezeFreezingFreezing or solidification is a phase change in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. The reverse process is melting....
s waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
to ice by using an airpump. - 1811 – Avogadro's lawAvogadro's lawAvogadro's law is a gas law named after Amedeo Avogadro who, in 1811, hypothesized that two given samples of an ideal gas, at the same temperature, pressure and volume, contain the same number of molecules...
a gas law - 1823 – Michael FaradayMichael FaradayMichael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
liquified ammonia to cause cooling - 1824 – Sadi CarnotSadi CarnotSadi Carnot may refer to:*Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot , French physicist*Marie François Sadi Carnot , president of the third French Republic, and nephew of Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot...
– the Carnot CycleCarnot cycleThe Carnot cycle is a theoretical thermodynamic cycle proposed by Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot in 1824 and expanded by Benoit Paul Émile Clapeyron in the 1830s and 40s. It can be shown that it is the most efficient cycle for converting a given amount of thermal energy into work, or conversely,... - 1834 – Ideal gas lawIdeal gas lawThe ideal gas law is the equation of state of a hypothetical ideal gas. It is a good approximation to the behavior of many gases under many conditions, although it has several limitations. It was first stated by Émile Clapeyron in 1834 as a combination of Boyle's law and Charles's law...
- 1834 – Jacob PerkinsJacob PerkinsJacob Perkins was an Anglo-American inventor, mechanical engineer and physicist. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Perkins was apprenticed to a goldsmith...
obtained the first patent for a vapor-compression refrigerationVapor-compression refrigerationVapor-compression refrigeration is one of the many refrigeration cycles available for use. It has been and is the most widely used method for air-conditioning of large public buildings, offices, private residences, hotels, hospitals, theaters, restaurants and automobiles...
system. - 1834 – Jean-Charles Peltier discovers the Peltier effect
- 1844 – Charles Piazzi SmythCharles Piazzi SmythCharles Piazzi Smyth , was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888, well-known for many innovations in astronomy and his pyramidological and metrological studies of the Great Pyramid of Giza....
proposes comfort cooling - c.1850 – Michael FaradayMichael FaradayMichael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
makes a hypothesis that freezing substances increases their dielectric constant. - 1851 – John GorrieJohn GorrieJohn Gorrie , physician, scientist, inventor, and humanitarian, is considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning. He was born on the Island of Nevis to Scottish parents on October 3, 1802, and spent his childhood in South Carolina...
patented his mechanical refrigeration machine in the US to make ice to cool the air - 1856 – James HarrisonJames Harrison (engineer)James Harrison was an Australian newspaper printer, journalist, politician, and pioneer in the field of mechanical refrigeration.-Early life:...
patented an ether liquid-vapour compression refrigeration system and developed the first practical ice-making and refrigeration room for use in the brewing and meat-packing industries of Geelong, Victoria. - 1857 – Carl Wilhelm SiemensCarl Wilhelm SiemensCarl Wilhelm Siemens was a German born engineer who for most of his life worked in Britain and later became a British subject.-Biography:...
, the Siemens cycleSiemens cycleThe Siemens cycle is a technique used to cool or liquefy gases.. A gas is compressed, leading to an increase in its temperature . The compressed gas is then cooled by a heat exchanger, then the cool, compressed gas is allowed to decompress, further cooling it... - 1858 – Julius PlückerJulius PlückerJulius Plücker was a German mathematician and physicist. He made fundamental contributions to the field of analytical geometry and was a pioneer in the investigations of cathode rays that led eventually to the discovery of the electron. He also vastly extended the study of Lamé curves.- Early...
observed for the first time some pumping effect due to electrical discharge. - 1859 – Ferdinand CarréFerdinand CarréFerdinand Philippe Edouard Carré was a French engineer, born at Moislains on 11 March 1824. Carré is best known as the inventor of refrigeration equipment used to produce ice...
– The first gas absorption refrigeration system using gaseous ammonia dissolved in water (referred to as "aqua ammonia") - 1862 – Alexander Carnegie Kirk invents the Air cycle machineAir cycle machineAn air cycle machine is the refrigeration unit of the environmental control system used in pressurized gas turbine-powered aircraft. Normally an aircraft has two or three of these ACM. Each ACM and its components are often referred as an Air Conditioning Pack.The air cycle cooling process uses...
- 1864 – Charles TellierCharles TellierCharles Tellier was a French engineer, born in Amiens. He early made a study of motors and compressed air. In 1868 he began experiments in refrigeration, which resulted ultimately in the refrigerating plant as used on ocean vessels, to preserve meats and other perishable food...
patented a refrigeration system using dimethyl etherDimethyl etherDimethyl ether , also known as methoxymethane, is the organic compound with the formula . The simplest ether, it is a colourless gas that is a useful precursor to other organic compounds and an aerosol propellant. When combusted, DME produces minimal soot and CO, though HC and NOx formation is... - 1869 – Charles TellierCharles TellierCharles Tellier was a French engineer, born in Amiens. He early made a study of motors and compressed air. In 1868 he began experiments in refrigeration, which resulted ultimately in the refrigerating plant as used on ocean vessels, to preserve meats and other perishable food...
installed a cold storage plant in France. - 1871 – Carl von LindeCarl von LindeProfessor Doctor Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde was a German engineer who developed refrigeration and gas separation technologies...
built his first ammoniaAmmoniaAmmonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
compression machine. - 1876 – Carl von LindeCarl von LindeProfessor Doctor Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde was a German engineer who developed refrigeration and gas separation technologies...
patented equipment to liquefy air using the Joule Thomson expansion processJoule–Thomson effectIn thermodynamics, the Joule–Thomson effect or Joule–Kelvin effect or Kelvin–Joule effect describes the temperature change of a gas or liquid when it is forced through a valve or porous plug while kept insulated so that no heat is exchanged with the environment. This procedure is called a...
and regenerative coolingRegenerative coolingRegenerative cooling in rockets is where some or all of the propellant is passed through tubes, channels or otherwise in a jacket around the combustion chamber or nozzle to cool the engine because the fuel in particular and sometimes the oxidizer are good coolants... - 1877 – Raoul PictetRaoul PictetRaoul-Pierre Pictet was a Swiss physicist and the first person to liquefy nitrogen. He was born in Geneva and served as professor in the university of that city...
and Louis Paul CailletetLouis Paul CailletetLouis-Paul Cailletet was a French physicist and inventor.- Life and work :Cailletet was born in Châtillon-sur-Seine, Côte-d'Or. Educated in Paris, Cailletet returned to Châtillon to manage his father's ironworks...
, working separately, develop two methods to liquefy oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
. - 1879 – Bell-Coleman machine
- 1880 – carbonic acid compression machine
- 1882 – William Soltau DavidsonWilliam Soltau DavidsonWilliam Soltau Davidson was the New Zealand pioneer of refrigerated shipping.-Early life:Son of Frances Pillans and bank manager David Davidson, William Davidson was born in Montreal, Canada. He attended the Edinburgh Academy, , before taking a position book keeping in Glasgow...
fitted a compression refrigeration unit to the New Zealand vessel DunedinDunedin (ship)The Dunedin was the first ship to complete a truly successful transport of refrigerated meat. In its capacity, it helped set the stage for New Zealand's success as a major provider of agricultural exports, notwithstanding its extreme remoteness from most markets.-Ship origins:The 1,320-ton, ... - 1883 – Zygmunt Wróblewski condenses experimentally useful quantities of liquid oxygenLiquid oxygenLiquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...
- 1885 – Zygmunt Wróblewski published hydrogen's critical temperature as 33 K; critical pressure, 13.3 atmospheres; and boiling point, 23 K.
- 1888 – Loftus PerkinsLoftus PerkinsLoftus Perkins was an English engineer, particularly involved in developing the practical technologies of central heating and refrigeration.-Life:...
develops the "ArktosArktosIn Greek mythology, Arktos was a centaur who fought against the Lapith spearmen....
" cold chamber for preserving food, using an early ammonia absortion system. - 1892 – James DewarJames DewarSir James Dewar FRS was a Scottish chemist and physicist. He is probably best-known today for his invention of the Dewar flask, which he used in conjunction with extensive research into the liquefaction of gases...
invents the vacuum-insulated, silver-plated glass Dewar flaskDewar flaskA Dewar flask is a vessel designed to provide very good thermal insulation. For instance, when filled with a hot liquid, the vessel will not allow the heat to easily escape, and the liquid will stay hot for far longer than in a typical container... - 1895 – Carl von LindeCarl von LindeProfessor Doctor Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde was a German engineer who developed refrigeration and gas separation technologies...
files for patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
protection of the Hampson–Linde cycle for liquefaction of atmospheric air or other gases (approved in 1903). - 1898 – James Dewar condenses liquid hydrogenLiquid hydrogenLiquid hydrogen is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecular H2 form.To exist as a liquid, H2 must be pressurized above and cooled below hydrogen's Critical point. However, for hydrogen to be in a full liquid state without boiling off, it needs to be...
by using regenerative coolingRegenerative coolingRegenerative cooling in rockets is where some or all of the propellant is passed through tubes, channels or otherwise in a jacket around the combustion chamber or nozzle to cool the engine because the fuel in particular and sometimes the oxidizer are good coolants...
and his invention, the vacuum flaskVacuum flaskA vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel which keeps its contents hotter or cooler than its surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck...
. - 1900 – Nikola TeslaNikola TeslaNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
receives , "Means for Increasing the Intensity of Electrical Oscillations". Tesla, also, receives , Method of Insulating Electric Conductors
20th century CE
- 1905 – Carl von LindeCarl von LindeProfessor Doctor Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde was a German engineer who developed refrigeration and gas separation technologies...
obtains pure oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
and nitrogenNitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
. - 1906 – Willis CarrierWillis CarrierWillis Haviland Carrier was an American engineer and inventor, and is known as the man who invented modern air conditioning....
patents the basis for modern air conditioningAir conditioningAn air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
. - 1908 – Heike Kamerlingh OnnesHeike Kamerlingh OnnesHeike Kamerlingh Onnes was a Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate. He pioneered refrigeration techniques, and he explored how materials behaved when cooled to nearly absolute zero. He was the first to liquify helium...
liquefies heliumHeliumHelium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
. - 1911 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discloses his research on metallic low-temperature phenomenon characterised by no electrical resistance, calling it superconductivitySuperconductivitySuperconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance occurring in certain materials below a characteristic temperature. It was discovered by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum...
. - 1915 – Wolfgang Gaede – the Diffusion pumpDiffusion pumpDiffusion pumps use a high speed jet of vapor to direct gas molecules in the pump throat down into the bottom of the pump and out the exhaust. Presented in 1915 by Wolfgang Gaede and using mercury vapor, they were the first type of high vacuum pumps operating in the regime of free molecular flow,...
- 1920 – Edmund Copeland and Harry Edwards use iso-butane in small refrigerators.
- 1922 – Baltzar von Platen and Carl MuntersCarl MuntersCarl Georg Munters was a Swedish inventor, most known for inventing together with Baltzar von Platen the gas absorption refrigerator now sold by Electrolux...
invent the 3 fluids absorption chiller, exclusively driven by heat. - 1924 – Fernand HolweckFernand HolweckFernand Holweck was a French physicist who made important contributions in the fields of vacuum technology, electromagnetic radiation and gravitation...
– the Holweckpump - 1926 – Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
and Leó SzilárdLeó SzilárdLeó Szilárd was an Austro-Hungarian physicist and inventor who conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb...
invent the Einstein refrigeratorEinstein refrigeratorThe Einstein-Szilard or Einstein refrigerator is an absorption refrigerator which has no moving parts, operates at constant pressure, and requires only a heat source to operate...
. - 1926 – Willem Hendrik KeesomWillem Hendrik KeesomWillem Hendrik Keesom was a Dutch physicist who, in 1926, invented a method to freeze liquid helium.He also developed the first mathematical description of dipole-dipole interactions in 1921...
solidifies helium. - 1926 – General Electric Company introduced the first hermetic compressor refrigerator
- 1933 – William GiauqueWilliam GiauqueWilliam Francis Giauque was an American chemist and Nobel laureate recognised in 1949 for his studies in the properties of matter at temperatures close to absolute zero...
and others – Adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration - 1937 – Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, John F. Allen, and Don MisenerDon MisenerDon Misener was a physicist. Along with Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa and John F. Allen, Misener discovered the superfluid phase of matter in 1937....
discover superfluidity using helium-4 at 2.2 KKelvinThe kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all... - 1937 – Frans Michel PenningFrans Michel PenningFrans Michel Penning was a Dutch physicist. The Penning trap, used for storing charged particles, as well as the Penning mixture and Penning effect of gas discharge tubes are named after him. He also invented a type of cold cathode vacuum gauge known as Penning gauge.-External links:*...
invents a type of cold cathodeCold cathodeA cold cathode is a cathode used within nixie tubes, gas discharge lamps, discharge tubes, and some types of vacuum tube which is not electrically heated by the circuit to which it is connected...
vacuum gauge known as Penning gauge - 1944 – Manne SiegbahnManne SiegbahnKarl Manne Georg Siegbahn FRS was a Swedish physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924 "for his discoveries and research in the field of X-ray spectroscopy"....
, the Siegbahn pump - 1951 – Heinz LondonHeinz LondonHeinz London was a German Physicist. He worked with his brother Fritz on superconductivity, discovering the London equations when working in Oxford, at the Clarendon Laboratory; these equations gave a first explanation to the Meissner effect...
invents the principle of the dilution refrigeratorDilution refrigeratorA dilution refrigerator is a cryogenic device first proposed by Heinz London. Its refrigeration process uses a mixture of two isotopes of helium: helium-3 and helium-4... - 1955 – Roots vacuum pump
- 1955 – Willi Becker turbomolecular pumpTurbomolecular pumpA turbomolecular pump is a type of vacuum pump, superficially similar to a turbopump, used to obtain and maintain high vacuum. These pumps work on the principle that gas molecules can be given momentum in a desired direction by repeated collision with a moving solid surface...
concept - 1957 – Lewis D. Hall, Robert L. Jepsen and John C. Helmer ion pumpIon pump (physics)An ion pump is a type of vacuum pump capable of reaching up to 10−11 mbar under ideal conditions. An ion pump ionizes gases and employs a strong electrical potential, typically 3kV to 7kV, to accelerate them into a solid electrode...
based on Penning discharge - 1959 – Kleemenko cycleKleemenko cycleThe Kleemenko cycle or one-flow cascade cycle is a single-stream mixed-refrigerant technique used to cool or liquify gases. The term Kleemenko Cycle is used in refrigeration if multi-component refrigerants are used in a cycle....
- 1963 – W. Gifford and R. Longsworth invent the pulse tube cooler
- 1972 – David LeeDavid Lee (physicist)David Morris Lee is an American physicist who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics with Robert C. Richardson and Douglas Osheroff "for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3"-Personal life:...
, Robert Coleman RichardsonRobert Coleman RichardsonRobert Coleman Richardson is an American experimental physicist whose area of research includes sub-millikelvin temperature studies of helium-3...
and Douglas Osheroff discover superfluidity in helium-3 at 0.002 K. - 1973 – Linear compressorLinear compressorA linear compressor is a gas compressor where the piston moves along a linear track to compress to minimize energy loss during conversion.-History:...
- 1978 – Laser coolingLaser coolingLaser cooling refers to the number of techniques in which atomic and molecular samples are cooled through the interaction with one or more laser light fields...
demonstrated in the groups of Wineland and Dehmelt. - 1986 – Karl Alexander MüllerKarl Alexander MüllerKarl Alexander Müller is a Swiss physicist and Nobel laureate. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1987 with Johannes Georg Bednorz for their work in superconductivity in ceramic materials.-Biography:...
and J. Georg Bednorz discover high-temperature superconductivityHigh-temperature superconductivityHigh-temperature superconductors are materials that have a superconducting transition temperature above . From 1960 to 1980, 30 K was thought to be the highest theoretically possible Tc... - 1995 – Eric Cornell and Carl WiemanCarl WiemanCarl Edwin Wieman is an American physicist at the University of British Columbia and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics for the production, in 1995 with Eric Allin Cornell, of the first true Bose–Einstein condensate.-Biography:...
create the first Bose–Einstein condensateBose–Einstein condensateA Bose–Einstein condensate is a state of matter of a dilute gas of weakly interacting bosons confined in an external potential and cooled to temperatures very near absolute zero . Under such conditions, a large fraction of the bosons occupy the lowest quantum state of the external potential, at...
, using a dilute gas of Rubidium-87 cooled to 170 nK. Win Nobel Prize for Physics in 2001 for BEC.
See also
- List of timelines
- Liquefaction of gasesLiquefaction of gasesLiquefaction of gases includes a number of phases used to convert a gas into a liquid state. The processes are used for scientific, industrial and commercial purposes. Many gases can be put into a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure by simple cooling; a few, such as carbon dioxide, require...
- History of superconductivityHistory of superconductivityThe history of superconductivity, the property exhibited by certain substances of lacking electrical resistance at temperatures close to absolute zero, began at the end of the 19th century and culminated in Heike Kamerlingh Onnes's 1911 discovery...
- History of thermodynamicsHistory of thermodynamicsThe history of thermodynamics is a fundamental strand in the history of physics, the history of chemistry, and the history of science in general...
- Timeline of temperature and pressure measurement technologyTimeline of temperature and pressure measurement technologyTimeline of temperature and pressure measurement technology A history of temperature measurement and pressure measurement technology.-1500s:* 1592-1593 — Galileo Galilei builds a device showing variation of hotness known as the thermoscope using the contraction of air to draw water up a...
- Timeline of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and random processesTimeline of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and random processesA timeline of events related to thermodynamics.- Before 1800 :* 1650 – Otto von Guericke builds the first vacuum pump* 1660 – Robert Boyle experimentally discovers Boyle's Law, relating the pressure and volume of a gas...