Vacuum Technology
Covers modern vacuum technology topics like kinetic theory, conductance, pumping, pressure measurement, and leak detection via lectures, labs, and problem solving.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2017: 3.55 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2020: 3.90 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2022: 3.56 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Use kinetic theory to determine key characteristics of a rarified gas such as the mean free path length, molecular flux and the average velocity
Calculate the conductance of a vacuum system for molecular, viscous, and transitional flow regimes
Calculate the time dependent pump down behavior of a vacuum system
Repair a rotary vane vacuum pump
Characterize the operation, advantages and disadvantages of low, medium, and high vacuum pumps
Characterize the operation, advantages and disadvantages of low and high vacuum gauges
Define and utilize appropriate leak detection methods for small, medium, and large leak rates
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapGraduate/professional standing
- Graduate/professional standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Graduate/professional standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2017: 3.55 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2020: 3.90 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2022: 3.56 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Kinetic theory of gases
- Conductance
- Pumping systems
- Pump technologies
- Pressure measurement
- Gas-surface interactions
- Sealing technologies
- Leak detection
Skills
- Apply kinetic theory to determine characteristics of rarified gases
- Calculate vacuum system conductance across flow regimes
- Calculate time-dependent pump-down behavior
- Repair rotary vane vacuum pumps
- Characterize low, medium, and high vacuum pump operations
- Characterize low and high vacuum gauge operations
- Define and utilize leak detection methods for various leak rates
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2022— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Spring 2022
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
No records available.
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}