Funding
EMP is funded through the Horizon2020 programme of the European Commission.
Selected Publications

LEGO® Block Structures as a Sub-Kelvin Thermal Insulator

J. M. A. Chawner, A. T. Jones, M. T. Noble, G. R. Pickett, V. Tsepelin, D. E. Zmeev

We report measurements of the thermal conductance of a structure made from commercial Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) modules, known as LEGO® blocks, in the temperature range from 70 mK to 1.8 K. A power law for the sample’s thermal conductivity κ = (8.7 ± 0.3) × 10−5 T1.75±0.02 WK−1 m−1 was determined. We conclude that this ABS/void compound material provides better thermal isolation than well-known bulk insulator materials in the explored temperature range, whilst maintaining solid support. LEGO blocks represent a cheap and superlative alternative to materials such as Macor or Vespel. In our setup, <400 nW of power can heat an experimental area of 5 cm2 to over 1 K, without any significant change to the base temperature of the dilution refrigerator. This work suggests that custom-built modular materials with even better thermal performance could be readily and cheaply produced by 3D printing.


Sci Rep 9, 19642 (2019)

doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55616-7

arxiv: http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/-(83727327-4353-49a3-aef2-1743decc2f28).html

supplemental material: https://doi.org/10.17635/lancaster/researchdata/328