3He in a Torsion Pendulum

We present results of the Q−1 and period shift, P , for 3He confined in a 98% nominal open aerogel on a torsion pendulum. The aerogel is compressed uniaxially by 10% along a direction aligned to the torsion pendulum axis and was grown within a 400 μm tall pancake (after compression) similar to an Andronikashvili geometry. The result is a high Q pendulum able to resolve Q−1 and mass coupling of the impurity-limited 3He over the whole temperature range. After measuring the empty cell background, we filled the cell above the critical point and observe a temperature dependent period shift, P , between 100 mK and 3 mK that is 2.9% of the period shift (after filling) at 100 mK. The Q−1 due to the 3He decreases by an order of magnitude between 100 mK and 3 mK at a pressure of 0.14 ± 0.03 bar. We compare the observable quantities to the corresponding calculated Q−1 and period shift for bulk 3He.