Scientific supervisor
| Name | dr hab. Grzegorz Zuzel |
| Email: | grzegorz.zuzel@uj.edu.pl |
| Department | Department of Experimental Computer Physics |
| Laboratory | Low-evel radioactivity laboratory |
| Group webpage |
Short description
He-3 is a very rare and stable isotope of helium accreted during the formation of the Earth and, being very light, continues to escape into the space. It has been produced in the last decades exploiting the nuclear weapons programs, therefore today the only used method for the He-3 production is through the H-3 beta decay. As a consequence the availability of He-3 is limited, its cost is very high and the production is affected by the lack of a suitable technology to satisfy the market demand. He-3 is used in neutron detectors (see other intership proposal) widely deployed for Homeland Security. Moreover, He-3 is fundamental also in many different areas as MRI lung screening, well logging and ultra-low temperature physics (e.g. material properties, astrophysics, quantum computers) by means of dilution and He-3 refrigerators. The problem of He-3 shortage may be solved applying a novel technology aiming to a massive production of He-3 obtained from natural helium, which is in turn extracted from gas wells. Design and implementation of flow controls in liquid helium that exploit the difference in viscosity of He-3 and He-4 at temperatures of 1-2 K is necessary . At those temperatures He-4 becomes superfluid and can be separated from He-3 using superleaks and heaters acting together as thermo-mechanical pumps.
During the internship students will participate in the program of He survey form various suppliers from Poland (e.g. Odolanów) and from Europe in order to identify gas with the highest initial He-3 concentration. It could be used later for He-3 extraction.
Mass spectrometry techniques will be explained and students will get familiar with a high sensitivity spectrometer for gases. They will use it next for measurements of He-3 concentration in He samples.
Main research tools
- High sensitivity mass spectrometer for gases.
Additional requirements to the candidate
- Basic knowledge about gases.
Possibility to continue student internship in the form of:
- Diploma thesis (master's or bachelor's degree): Yes
- PhD study: Yes