Can He-3 - He-4 dilution refrigerators operate aboard spacecraft

Abstract

The possibility of using an He-3 - He-4 dilution refrigerator to provide cooling down to millikelvin-range temperatures for high sensitivity and low noise instruments employed in future space missions is considered. Calculations are presented which demonstrate that electrostriction can be substituted for gravity as a practical means of achieving phase separation, with well defined interfaces in mixing chambers of spacecraft dilution refrigerators. An electric field of the required strength may be created by a potential difference of about 5000 V, across a gap of 0.5 mm.