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From Defiant Youth to Conformist Adulthood: The Sad Story of Liquid Helium

Abstract.

In this paper I discuss the properties of superfluid helium and present the different approaches to the problem of superfluidity. The gradual realization of this new liquid state brought about dramatic changes in our assessment of quantum mechanics and our reconceptualization of fluids, especially with the introduction of the notion of macroscopic quantum phenomena, which was introduced for superconductivity and superfluidity by Fritz London.

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Gavroglu, K. From Defiant Youth to Conformist Adulthood: The Sad Story of Liquid Helium. Phys. perspect. 3, 165–188 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00000528

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00000528

  • Key words. Superconductivity, superfluidity, liquid helium, Fritz London, Lev Landau, Laszlo Tisza, Petr Kapitza.