Magnetic compensation of gravity forces in (p-) hydrogen near its critical point: application to weightless...

We report a study concerning the compensation of gravity forces in two-phase (p-) hydrogen. The sample is placed near one end of the vertical z axis of a superconducting coil, where there is a near-uniform magnetic field gradient. A variable effective gravity level g can thus be applied to the two-phase fluid system. The vanishing behavior of the capillary length l(C) at the critical point is compensated by a decrease in g and l(C) is kept much smaller than the cell dimension. For g ranging from 1 to 0.25 times Earth's gravity (modulus g(0)) we compare the actual shape of the meniscus to the expected shape in a homogeneous gravity field. We determine l(C) in a wide range of reduced temperature tau=(T(C)-T)/T(C)=[10(-4)-0.02] from a fit of the meniscus shape. The data are in agreement with previous measurements further from T(C) performed in n-H2 under Earth's gravity. The effective gravity is homogeneous within 10(-2)g(0) for a 3 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness sample and is in good agreement with the computed one, validating the use of the apparatus as a variable gravity facility. In the vicinity of the levitation point (where magnetic forces exactly compensate Earth's gravity), the computed axial component of the acceleration is found to be quadratic in z, whereas its radial component is proportional to the distance to the axis, which explains the gas-liquid patterns observed near the critical point.