Method of making a solidified disc from material which is a gas at room temperature

Abstract

Abstract A method for making a thin, self-supporting disc from a substance, such as hydrogen, which is a gas at room temperature said disc being eventually located in a vacuum. A metal member is provided which defines a hole having a diameter small enough that at a sufficiently low temperature a liquid film of the substance will form in or across the hole due to surface tension. The atmosphere surrounding the hole is first reduced to a high vacuum and then the space or zone surrounding the hole is made smaller. A predetermined quantity of the gas to be solidified is brought into this lesser space and a cryogen cools the gas below its boiling point. This causes the gas to condense on the surface of the metal member and form a liquid film in the hole. The liquid film is further cooled until it solidifies in the form of a thin, self-supporting disc. An apparatus including a diffusion pump, a vacuum chamber, and a reciprocating glass bell within the vacuum chamber is provided to carry out the method.

Inventors

• 👤 Horst Krause
• 👤 Richard Sigel

Bibliographic Details