The Question of Ion Current Flow in Helium Films

Abstract

Maraviglia¹ has reported briefly some observations which suggest that an ion current could exist in the saturated film of He II. The film existed on the insulated dielectric surfaces above the gas-liquid interface in an ion cell. He found the same dc characteristics in the film and the bulk liquid and concluded that both positive and negative ions could move freely along the film. The possibility of a current in the gas rather than in the film was ruled out, but our paper questions the validity of his conclusion. Later Bianconi and Maraviglia² reported that periodic oscillations in the moving superfluid in a film modulated the positive ion current in the gas at we same frequency ω and the film current at 2ω. Our results with positive ions cannot be reconciled with their conclusions.