Cold Facts Digital – The go-to place for Cryogenics and Superconductivity

NASA SLS Green Run Testing Complete, Boeing Readies Core Stage for Tow to Florida

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) program and prime Core Stage contractor Boeing wrapped up the Green Run testing campaign on the Artemis 1 flight article at the Stennis Space Center and are readying the vehicle for its long-awaited shipment to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After reviewing the performance...

SpaceX Conducts Cryogenic Test on Starship SN15

On April 13, Starship SN15 went through the cryogenic proof test. The cryo-test ensures if a spaceship is able to withstand in-flight atmospheric pressures and extremely low temperatures. This is achieved by simulating the in-flight conditions by filling the Starship with liquid nitrogen that has a temperature of −196 °C...

Researchers Develop Cryogenic Coffee Grinding Technology

Skoltech Ph.D. Dima Smirnov and his colleagues from St. Petersburg, Alexander Saichenko, Vladimir Dvortsov, Mikhail Tkachenko and Maxim Kukolev developed a cryogenic cooling technology and combined it with a cryogenic grinding technique to produce, for the first time ever, retail cryoground coffee.

Honoring the Hugets

After 42 years of continued leadership and direction, Laurie and Werner Huget have retired from CSA. For decades, the Hugets have overseen CSA’s day-to-day operations, organized conferences and workshops attended by professionals from around the world and facilitated countless short courses for the cryogenics community. We invite you to continue...

JanisULT, Formerly Janis Research, Launches New Website

In August 2020, Janis Research Company, LLC (CSA CSM) announced a formal change in company name to JanisULT (a trading name of American ULT Cryogenics, LLC) following the successful sale of their laboratory cryogenics business to Lake Shore Cryotronics (CSA CSM). On March 12, the company announced their updated website,...

IceCube Detection of a High Energy Particle Proves 60-Year-Old Theory

On December 6, 2016, a high energy particle called an electron antineutrino hurtled to Earth from outer space at close to the speed of light carrying 6.3 petaelectronvolts of energy. Deep inside the ice sheet at the South Pole, it smashed into an electron and produced a particle that quickly...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Joule-Thomson Effect

The Joule-Thomson (JT) effect is a thermodynamic process that occurs when a fluid expands from high pressure to low pressure at constant enthalpy (an isenthalpic process). Such a process can be approximated in the real world by expanding a fluid from high pressure to low pressure across a valve. Under...

Current Leads

One of the challenges of using superconducting magnets is the connection of the magnet to a room temperature power supply. This is accomplished via current leads. The trick is that current leads should ideally have a low heat leak, since they connect room temperature to cryogenic temperature, while at the...

Multilayer Insulation

Multilayer insulation (also referred to as superinsulation) is a key component in the reduction of heat leak to cryogenic systems due to thermal radiation. MLI consists of a series of uncooled reflective surfaces placed in the vacuum space between two surfaces, one warmer than the other. Generally speaking, for ideal...

Latest in Cryo Central

History of Cryogenics

From the Fall 1999 issue of Cold Facts magazine Millennium Breakthroughs A variety of CSA members give different perspectives on the past millennium: What were the most significant breakthroughs in cryogenics during the past millennium? Prof. R.G. Scurlock, Kryos Technology, scurlock@soton.ac.uk (“Breakthrough” = way through obstacles — Oxford English Dictionary)...

Cryobiology

Andreas Sputtek Past President Society for Cryobiology sputtek@uke.uni-hamburg.de or http://www.sputtek.de/. The word cryobiology (from the Greek words “cryo” = cold, “bios” = life, and “logos” = science) literally signifies the science of life at low temperatures. In practice, this field comprises the study of any biological material or system (e.g.,...

Cryogenic Insulation

James E. Fesmire Cryogenics Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center james.e.fesmire@nasa.gov Introduction In today’s world, the use of cryogenics and low-temperature refrigeration is taking a more and more significant role. From the food industry, transportation, energy, and medical applications to the Space Shuttle, cryogenic liquids must be stored, handled, and...

Cryogenic Treatment of Materials

F.J. Diekman Controlled Thermal Processing, Inc. info@metal-wear.com Cryogenic Processing (also called cryogenic treatment, and incorrectly “cryogenic tempering”) is a process that uses cryogenic temperatures to modify materials to enhance their performance. Cryogenic Processing involves the slow reduction in temperature of the material to at least -300°F (-185°C) and holding the...

Latest in Ask the Experts

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...

Separated layers of ice over a pipe

I want to know that why there are different layers of ice over a pipe carrying a cryogenic fluid, each layer separated with clear marks / lines? What do these layers signify?

Using nitrogen as a cryogen

Is it possible to achieve -200˚C using nitrogen as a cryogen?

CATEGORIES