Pec pod Sněžkou

Contemporary Problems of Low Temperature Physics

is an off-site seminar for Bc. students in the beautiful region of Pec pod Sněžkou with the highest Czech mountain Sněžka (1603 m).

REGISTER FOR THE COURSE    SEND YOUR FRIENDS AN INVITATION

The seminar will be held from 26.4.2024 (Friday) to 1.5.2024 (Wednesday). The number of places is limited. In order to register for the seminar, enroll in the course NFPL180 within the summer term registration period, or contact us via mail seminar.pec@gmail.com to arrange for an extraordinary enrollment.

The program is organized as an introduction to various aspects of low-temperature physics, hyperfine interactions and nuclear methods in solid-state physics for beginners and involves a description of current scientific investigation in low-temperature physics. The lectures are given in the Czech language, however, a minority of them could be given in English by foreign-language specialists.

Lectures cover:

  • Temperature scale and the role of temperature in physics. Low-temperature physics and topics of investigation.
  • Basic properties of 4He and 3He, liquefaction, thermal insulation, Dewar vessels, cryostats. Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein quantum statistics. Ideal Bose gas, Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). Ideal Fermi gas, Fermi liquid. Phase diagrams of 4He and 3He, superfluidity, hydrodynamics and quantized vortices. 3He-4He mixtures, dilution refrigerator. Adiabatic demagnetization, nuclear demagnetization. Thermometry.
  • Superconductivity - basic properties, ideas and application. Josephson phenomena. High-temperature superconductivity.
  • Physical properties of solids at low temperature. Metals, insulators, semiconductors - phonons, electrons, holes. Introduction into energy spectrum, valence and conduction band. Debay temperature. Quantum Hall effect. Magnetism at low temperatures. Nuclear magnetism, Van Vleck paramagnets.
  • Nuclear methods in condensed matter physics. Principles of nuclear magnetic resonance - Larmor precession, Bloch equations, spin echo. NMR in magnetics, hyperfine interactions. Nuclear magnetic imaging. High-resolution NMR. Nuclear orientation. Mössbauer spectroscopy. Positron annihilation.

Schedule 2024

Report on the year 2020

Address

Výukové a školicí středisko UK Praha
Velká pláň 159
542 21 Pec pod Sněžkou

Instructions for participants:

  • Accommodation and meals are fully covered for all MFF students. The rooms have a small fridge and TV. 
  • Transport of participants to the site is individual. A one-way ticket for a direct bus from bus station Černý most (Prague) to Pec pod Sněžkou costs approx. 115-230 Kč depending on the transport company and discount card used.
  • Participants are expected to arrive on starting day afternoon. The seminar starts with a dinner at 6 pm.
  • The seminar is closed with a lunch. Participants are expected to leave shortly after.
  • In case you have a vegetarian or another diet, contact the organizer ASAP!
  • Take stout shoes and warm clothes for your trips as usually there is still snow during May. Battery-lamp comes in handy also...
  • An optional trip to Sněžka is organized during the seminar.
  • For a small fee, you can use ping-pong, small football and pool tables. We will be happy if you bring any musical instruments and games to please other participants or for a social evening.
  • The final schedule and detailed information will be provided later by mail.
  • As always, do not forget your toothbrush, towels and slippers! :-)

Previous years...