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Who is Frosty?

You have seen the cute little white smiling CSA mascot, “Frosty,” with our logo on his tummy. You may have wondered about his story. We’ve been featuring Frosty in many iterations, especially in the CryoChronicle, with holiday themes and—more recently—with a mask reminding us to be safe during this pandemic....

Why Choose One Cryogenic Transfer Hose Over Another?

Hoses are one of the unsung heroes of cryogenics. They aren’t directly responsible for the production or storage of cryogenic liquids, nor do they make headlines in the same way that innovations enabled by cryogenics do. However, hoses are found throughout cryogenic processes and in many products like MRI machines...

Cryomech Restructures, Introduces Improved Cooler during Pandemic

While 2020’s pandemic altered “business as usual” for nearly every organization, operation and individual around the globe, some businesses took advantage of the necessary changes to reflect on their operations and expectations. Late last year, Cryomech (CSA CSM) took the opportunity and restructured internally. Now, the new—and growing—team has introduced...

Jefferson Lab Sets Date for 2022 Open House Event

The Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab, CSA CSM) will open its doors to the public for its next Open House event on March 26, 2022. The free event will offer an opportunity for people of all ages to explore Jefferson Lab’s world-class research facility, including...

A Breakthrough For Electric and Hydrogen-powered Aircraft

A major breakthrough in electric propulsion for long-range aircraft could soon be on the horizon. The presence of a cold source, in the form of liquid hydrogen, alongside superconducting technologies promises to unlock new possibilities. The ASCEND demonstrator project by Airbus UpNext aims to mature these technologies to significantly boost...

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Mixed Refrigerant Cycles

Most cryogenic refrigeration systems, both large scale systems and cryocoolers, use helium as a working fluid. There are a number of advantages to helium, not the least of which is that helium remains a fluid down to the lowest achievable temperatures. In order to freeze helium, pressures of over 20...

Fountain Pumps and He II Phase Separators

Helium II (He II), the second liquid phase of the 4He isotope described in this column in Cold Facts Spring 2010 (http://2csa.us/he2), can be modeled as consisting of two interpenetrating fluids. One, the superfluid component, has zero viscosity and entropy and the other, the normal fluid component, has nonzero viscosity...

Turboexpanders

A vital technology in the refrigerators and liquefiers described in Cold Facts Volume 31 Number 3 is that of turboexpanders. These devices are rotating machines in which the process fluid (e.g., helium) does work against the turboexpander while moving from high pressure to a lower pressure and thus is cooled....

Cryogenic Electronics

Randall Kirschman, consulting physicist, Mountain View, California ExtElect@gmail.com Cryogenic electronics—the operation of electronic devices, circuits, and systems at cryogenic temperatures—has been a valuable technology for decades. Cryogenic electronics (also referred to as low-temperature electronics, or cold electronics) can be based on semiconductive devices, on superconductive devices, or on a combination...

Particle Physics: High Energy Physics

Cryogenics and High-Energy Physics 1. From symmetry magazine: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000627: Cryogenics is the study of how materials behave at temperatures near absolute zero. In high-energy particle accelerators, such frigid temperatures reduce the electrical resistance of wires in superconducting magnets, increasing the magnet strength and allowing faster particle acceleration. The same holds...

HTS Degaussing Systems

From the Spring 2009 issue of Cold Facts (Volume 25, Number 2): Thanks to a joint project by the US Navy and a number of industry partners, high temperature superconducting (HTS) technology is now at the heart of an advanced degaussing system aboard the USS Higgins at the naval station...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

From http://www.superconductors.org: An area where superconductors can perform a life-saving function is in the field of biomagnetism. Doctors need a non-invasive means of determining what’s going on inside the human body. By impinging a strong superconductor-derived magnetic field into the body, hydrogen atoms that exist in the body’s water and...

An Issue of Pressure and Flow Rate in a Supply Tank

Please help solve this problem: A supply tank requires a vaporizer to generate sufficient pressure to pump stored fluid up into a vehicle or tank. The available head is limited as the tank level falls and it is important to minimize the system pressure drop to maintain the desired flow...

Using MLI on VJ Line Joints or Cryo Storage Tanks

When installing Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets on VJ line joints or cryo storage tanks should they be wrapped and tied down tight or loose? These are usually pre-cut to size. Also should they have an access hole at the point of where the molecular sieve is installed to help...