Metastable Thermodynamic States Near the Critical Point ofHe3

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We report the first measurements of the specific heat of a metastable, superheated, pure liquid (${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$). The specific heat shows no evidence of any singularity near the onset of metastability. We have also observed the lifetimes of metastable states as the ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ is cooled at constant density. For densities near the critical density, lifetimes decrease abruptly in an extremely narrow, reproducible temperature interval. This may indicate the onset of an intrinsic instability.