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Spectrum Specialty Valves’ Cryogenic Cam Butterfly Valve Wins SBIR Grant

Last year, C-Suite Services dba Spectrum Specialty Valves won a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for their cryogenic cam butterfly valve, beginning a lengthy research, development and production process. The three-phase NASA SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs fund the research, development and demonstration of innovative...

Ministry of Petroleum: Europe to Receive First Egyptian Liquefied Natural Gas Shipment

On Sunday, February 21, the LNG Tanker Golar Glacier arrived in Damietta Port to transport the first experimental shipment from the plant that has been idle for eight years. The return to operations of the Damietta plant on the northeast coast and the country’s other plant, Idku, in the Beheira...

First Drive: Hydrogen Powered Kia Borrego FCEV and Nissan X-Trail FCV

During the Hydrogen + Fuel Cells 2009 conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Yahoo editor Sebastian Blanco got to spend a few minutes in both the Nissan X-Trail FCV and the Kia Borrego FCEV. Now, he recalls the experience in a new hydrogen powered reality.

Applied Superconductivity Conference 2020 Unites Researchers, Manufacturers Virtually

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC) 2020 was held virtually this year from October 24 to November 7. Over the two weeks, attendees were given access to the same events and information that draw the international crowd for a “normal” convention, albeit in a digital format....

Cryocooler Community Meets Virtually for ICC21

From December 7-10, more than 160 researchers, engineers, students and industry professionals gathered virtually on Zoom® to discuss and share information on all aspects of cryocoolers during the 21st International Cryocooler Conference, ICC21. Held every other year since 1980, ICC’s mission is to “enhance cryocooler development by promoting increased communication...

Contribute Your Answer to a Very ‘Cool’ Question on Physics Forum, Stack Exchange

An interesting cryogenics question was posted in the physics section of the popular forum, Stack Exchange: "What would happen if a 10-kg cube of iron, at a temperature close to 0 kelvin, suddenly appeared in your living room?" Now, cryogenics enthusiasts around the world are offering up their explanations. We...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Helium-3

Helium-3 (3He) is one of the two stable isotopes of helium. The other is the much more common Helium-4 (4He). Neither of these isotopes should be confused with He II, which is the second liquid phase of 4He. He II was discussed in this column in the Spring 2010 edition...

Cryopumping

Cryopumping refers to the use of cryogenic temperatures to produce vacuum in enclosed spaces. More broadly, it can also refer to the removal of gases via cryogenic temperatures from a flow stream or enclosure without necessarily resulting in vacuum pressures. This is an important application of cryogenics and is used...

Thermal Acoustic Oscillations

Thermal Acoustic Oscillations (TAO) are a common event in cryogenic systems that can have significant adverse effects on the performance of the system. TAOs are sustained pressure oscillations that can occur in tubes containing gas, closed at one end (the warm end) that have a very large temperature gradient along...

Latest in Cryo Central

Magnets

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. Particle physics uses accelerators to recreate the conditions of the early universe in an attempt to piece together the complex puzzle of how we got to where we are today. These huge machines are used...

Energy Storage

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. With power lines increasingly congested and prone to instability, strategic injection of brief bursts of real power can play a crucial role in maintaining grid reliability. Small-scale Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) systems, based on...

Astronomy

ASTRONOMY IN SPACE by Peter V. Mason, retired, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology. Pmason@alumni.caltech.edu In thinking about the reasons to perform astronomy in space, we first consider the effect of the earth’s atmosphere. On a scale of decreasing energy, gamma rays, cosmic rays, X-rays and...

Cryocoolers

What is a Cryocooler? A mechanism that can extract heat from an object (cooler) and by doing so draw its temperature down below approximately 150 Kelvin (cryo). — (Courtesy Dr. Willy Gully) What is the difference between a Cryocooler and a Cryostat? A cryostat is any device designed to maintain...

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?

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