I. Construction of an ultralow temperature laboratory. II. Thermal relaxation in superfluid helium-3

The first part of this thesis describes the construction of an ultralow temperature laboratory capable of reaching temperatures below 0.002 K. Continuous refrigeration to 0.012 K is provided by a cold plate/dilution refrigerator system. Single-cycle cooling to 0.002 K is accomplished by adiabatic demagnetization of cerous magnesium nitrate (CMN), a paramagnetic salt. Thermometry is done by measuring the resistance of carbon and germanium sensors, the magnetic susceptibility of lanthanum-diluted CMN, and the anisotropy of gamma radiation from a cobalt-60 nuclear orientation thermometer. Systems have been developed to allow precise control of the temperature and pressure of the liquid helium-3 sample. Measurements of thermal relaxation of liquid helium-3 in the ultralow temperature cell following sudden magnetic cooling of the CMN refrigerant are described. Analysis of the transient response of a thermal model of the cell indicates that the ratio of the time constants immediately below and above the superfluid-to-normal transition temperature provides a close estimate of the ratio of the corresponding helium-3 heat capacities, at least in the superfluid A-phase