adiabatic demagnetization
Adiabatic demagnetization
The removal or diminution of a magnetic field applied to a magnetic substance when the latter has been thermally isolated from its surroundings. The process concerns paramagnetic substances almost exclusively, in which case a drop in temperature of the working substance is produced (magnetic cooling). See Paramagnetism
Nuclear magnetic moments are one or two thousand times smaller than their ionic (that is, electronic) counterparts, and the characteristic temperature of their mutual interaction lies in the microkelvin rather than millikelvin region. Successful experiments in nuclear adiabatic demagnetization date from the mid-1950s. See Absolute zero, Cryogenics, Low-temperature physics