Achieving Low Temperature

[hydraliskdragon]

Achieving higher temperature has always been easier to obtain then achieving low temperature "One can simply use a easy to get torch lighter to easily go over 1000°C)

 

However without using consumables such as dry ice, it has been much more difficult for someone to achieve lower temperatures.

 

The only common items available to the consumers within the price range are usually a normal compression cycle refrigerator or the highly inefficient Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC)

 

Wanting to obtain temperatures low enough for a cloud chamber experiment and other low temperature experiments without using consumables such as dry ice or liquid nitrogen, has anyone had success strictly using inexpensive parts or easy to obtain materials?

 

TEC coolers can be used in a pyramid (stacked) configuration but because of it's inefficiency and the amount of heat produced by each element, it soon becomes unrealistic as the each stage would need an exponential amount of power to remove the heat generated by itself plus an the heat of each successive stages.

(Refrigerants can be different then the stock refrigerant to prevent it from freezing)

 

Is it possible to apply the same concept for the TEC for a compression cycle refrigerator? Two or more compression cycles attached to draw head out of the compression stages. Or if the thermostat of the refrigerator was modified greatly beyond it's range, how cold can a refrigerator possibly become?

 

(Pulse tube cry-coolers are not an option due to the cost)

 

If anyone is aware of any other methods of cheaply cooling to bellow -40°C *Without using consumables such as dry ice* please let me know.

Edited October 7, 2011 by hydraliskdragon

[Enthalpy]

Ask on a computer forum like Hardware.uk or .de or .com. People who overclock their CPU have such closed-cycle refrigerators, which can't be very expensive. They want seriously cold temperatures because CMOS components are faster at cold (record overclockers let them run at 77K+), and if your component heats less than 100-200W, the refrigerator will achieve a lower temperature than with a CPU.

Edited October 7, 2011 by Enthalpy

[hydraliskdragon]

Ask on a computer forum like Hardware.uk or .de or .com. People who overclock their CPU have such closed-cycle refrigerators, which can't be very expensive. They want seriously cold temperatures because CMOS components are faster at cold (record overclockers let them run at 77K+), and if your component heats less than 100-200W, the refrigerator will achieve a lower temperature than with a CPU.

 

They are more then just expensive. Some of the consumer phase coolers/closed cycle refrigerators are over 700 dollars. At that price, it'd be better to buy a pulse tube cyrocooler.