Flow of the normal component of He-II about bluff objects observed with He*2 excimers

Flow of the normal fluid component of He II about a cylinder and flat plate in a channel with a square crosssection was observed by tracking clouds of He*2 excimers. Flow was produced using a lithographically patterned heater. The direction and speed of flow projected onto a plane parallel to the axis of the channel and perpendicular to the heater exhibited significant change with time even after the heater was turned off. Flow was recorded in movies. Excimers moved at least as fast as could be recorded by the camera. Velocity vector field maps of flow suggest formation of structures downstream of the cylinder object that are consistent with parts of eddies. In this paper, we establish a foundation to observe normal component flow of a quantum fluid over centimeters.