On the Fountain Effect in Superfluid Helium

TL;DR

This paper clarifies the physical origin of the fountain pressure in superfluid helium, emphasizing mechanical forces over statistical explanations, and proposes a general law for flow in superfluids and superconductors.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the fountain effect is driven by mechanical forces, challenging previous statistical interpretations, and establishes a thermodynamic framework for superfluid flow.

Findings

The osmotic pressure model overestimates fountain pressure by an order of magnitude.

London's thermodynamic expression is equivalent to chemical potential equality.

Superfluid flow is driven by mechanical forces, not statistical effects.

Abstract

The origin of the fountain pressure that arises from a small temperature difference in superfluid helium is analyzed. The osmotic pressure explanation due to Tisza (1938), based on the different fractions of ground state bosons, is formulated as an ideal solution and shown to overestimate the fountain pressure by an order of magnitude or more. The experimentally confirmed thermodynamic expression of H. London (1939), in which the temperature derivative of the pressure equals the entropy per unit volume, is shown to be equivalent to equality of chemical potential, not chemical potential divided by temperature. The former results from minimizing the energy at constant entropy, whereas the latter results from maximizing the entropy. It is concluded that superfluid flow in the fountain effect is driven by mechanical, not statistical, forces. This new principle appears to be a general law for flow in superfluids and superconductors.