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ASC to Hold All-virtual Conference October 24-November 7

The 2020 Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC) will be held virtually over two weeks beginning October 24 and will offer a combined virtual platform for plenary, oral and poster presentations, a conference exhibition, a new program for young professionals called ELEVATE, virtual breakouts, coffee breaks and other features.

A Quantum Thermometer to Measure the Coldest Temperatures in the Universe

On August 20, Trinity College Dublin announced that physicists from the college have proposed a thermometer based on quantum entanglement that can accurately measure temperatures a billion times colder than those in outer space. These ultracold temperatures arise in clouds of atoms, known as Fermi gases, which are created by...

Lake Shore Cryotronics Acquires Janis Research’s Laboratory Cryogenics Business

On August 5, Lake Shore Cryotronics (CSA CSM) announced the acquisition of Janis Research’s Laboratory Cryogenics (CSA CSM) business—a move that unites two of the world’s foremost providers of cryogenic and material characterization solutions for low temperature research. The acquisition of the Woburn MA-based business allows Lake Shore to now...

Barber-Nichols Wins 2020 CMA Aerospace Manufacturer of the Year Award

Barber-Nichols, a supplier of electronics enhanced turbomachines and turbomachine-based subsystems for the aerospace, defense and cryogenics industries, was named one of the winners of the fifth annual Colorado Manufacturing Awards (CMA)—hosted by CompanyWeek and Manufacturers Edge, a NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership partner—as “Aerospace Manufacturer of the Year.” Winners were announced...

Lancaster University Makes First-Ever Observation of ‘Time Crystals’ Interacting

For the first time ever, scientists have witnessed the interaction of a new phase of matter known as “time crystals.” An international team of researchers from Lancaster, Yale, Royal Holloway London and Aalto University in Helsinki observed time crystals by using Helium-3, a rare isotope of helium with one missing...

ASTM International Signs Memorandum of Understanding with New Zealand’s National Standards Body

On August 21, representatives from global standards organization ASTM International and Standards New Zealand, a division of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will lead to a closer working relationship between ASTM and Standards NZ. The MoU was signed by Katharine Morgan,...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Dewar

A dewar is a type of cryostat named after Sir James Dewar, the researcher who first developed the concept of a vacuum insulated container with silvered walls to reflect thermal radiation. Dewar was the first to liquefy hydrogen, and he created the device to store his discovery. The thermos bottle...

Stirling and Gifford-McMahon Cryocoolers

Stirling and Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocoolers are two of the most commonly used cryocoolers in cryogenics. Both devices have a significant industrial base and operate at a wide range of temperatures and capacities. The thermodynamic cycles for both of these cryocoolers are quite similar. The Stirling cycle consists of a compressor,...

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

A significant commercial application of cryogenics is the liquefaction, transport and storage of natural gas. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is generally 95 percent methane with a few percent ethane and much lower concentrations of propane and butane. LNG liquefies at 111.6 K. Unlike many applications of cryogenics, the motivation for...

Latest in Cryo Central

Wind Tunnels

Dr. Robert Kilgore The development of the cryogenic wind tunnel is one of many significant breakthroughs in both cryogenics and wind-tunnel technology made during the past millennium. Interest in the development of high-speed commercial and military aircraft resulted in a review of problems of flow simulation in transonic wind tunnels...

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...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Power usage: cryogenic systems vs. regular refrigerators

A recent project highlighted to me that closed cycle cryogenic cooling systems use far more electrical power to reduce temperatures by a few watts than regular refrigerators. I am sure it must be something to do with the extra difficulty of removing the heat from the liquid nitrogen or similar...

Redundancy strategies for mechanical -80C freezers

I was wondering what kind of redundancy strategies are people using for their mechanical -80C freezers? I am aware of the following. Please add if you are doing something different. 1) 1 Backup freezer for every 10 freezers – Empty and maintained at -80C at all times 2) Backup C02...

Safety guidelines for handling cryo vessels of nitrogen

I am looking for any safety guidelines for handling cryogenic vessels of nitrogen indoors and outdoors. I am especially interested in recommendations for area monitors to detect leaks, flow detection devices, etc.

Method to move components in a cryogenic environment

Does anyone know of a method with which to reliably move components in a cryogenic environment? We are interested in moving detectors in a cryogenically cooled (2K) vacuum chamber, which is contained within a larger cryostat/isolation vacuum with thermal shields. As the desired horizontal or vertical displacement is between 10...

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