Helium extraction

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Helium is extracted from the selected crystals by thermal degassing in vacuum. The extraction line is full metall tubulation system that contains the following parts:

  1. pump system (for evacuation between measurements),
  2. vacuum gauges,
  3. getters and cold fingers,
  4. ion pumps,
  5. four different furnaces for degassing of minerals,
  6. mass spectrometer,
  7. tanks of standard gases with pipettes.


Topologic sketch of the He-extraction line. Different colors indicate the major volumes.

 


Main window of the operating software of the helium-extraction line.

 


The helium-extraction line

 


The control bench of the extraction line.

 

Sample holding planchet in the laser cell
Pt capsule glows by the heating of IR laser (in the window of the laser-control software)
He-extraction in tube furnace
Diffusion cells
Tantalum-ribbon furnace (Nancy-type)
Glowing Ta heating element and sample in the ribbon furnace

 


Acknowledgement: Before and during the planning of the He-extraction line we got helpful advice from Des Patterson (PI), Tibor Dunai (at that time in Amsterdam), Fin Stuart (East Kilbride) and Rafaël Pik (Nancy). Withouth the always friendly, extremely constructive and outstanding help of the Central Metal Workshop of the Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum Göttingen the GÖochronology laboratory would not exist. Marion Bell was fighting with the bureaucrazy and made all the paper works. Many thanks.


Crew of Central Metal Workshop

 

to the homepage of the Sedimentology Department

 

And the compliments of visitors:

... no question, it is much more complicated than the Sputnik
... this thingamy on the top is exactly like R2D2 in the Star Wars
... clear, many Al-foils, thus it must be something very scientific
... like AT-AT's of the Empire