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Scientists and engineers from across the world gathered in Lake Tahoe for the 2025 Space Cryogenics Workshop. Credit: CSA

Space Cryo Workshop 2025 Sparks Collaboration Across Continents

By Wesley Johnson and Dan Hauser The 31st Space Cryogenics Workshop (SCW) was held at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village, Nevada, from May 13 to 15, 2025, chaired by Wesley Johnson and Daniel Hauser. More than 60 scientists and engineers from around the world convened to discuss...

Tiny Cryogenic Device Cuts Quantum Computer Heat Emissions By 10,000 Times

Researchers have developed a tiny device that extinguishes one of the biggest heat sources in quantum computers, cutting their running costs and potentially bringing these machines closer to commercial reality. Most quantum computers operate at temperatures close to absolute zero (459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius) using specialized cooling equipment to...
Dr. Jeff Martin U of Winnipeg

U of W Teams Sets Record for ‘Cool’ Science’

Over the summer, Dr. Jeff Martin, chair of the physics department at the University of Winnipeg (U of W), tripled his past record for ultracold neutron production at TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre. With the help of Dr. Russell Mammei, Dr. Blair Jamieson and several graduate and undergraduate students, Martin...
Nikkiso Contracted for Bahamas LNG-to-Power Project

Nikkiso Contracted for Bahamas LNG-to-Power Project

Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group has been contracted by NPG (a joint venture to be formed by Shell and a subsidiary of FOCOL Holdings Limited) to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification and cryogenic equipment for the New Providence Gas Project in Nassau, the Bahamas. The project involves...
Researchers Build Einstein Telescope Pathfinder with 10 km Arms and 10–15 K Cryogenic Mirrors

Researchers Build Einstein Telescope Pathfinder with 10 km Arms and 10–15 K Cryogenic Mirrors

The search for gravitational waves continues to push the boundaries of precision measurement, and the next generation of detectors promises to reveal previously inaccessible cosmic events. Thomas Höhn, Adrian Schwenck, and Thomas Thümmler, from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, alongside the Einstein Telescope Pathfinder (ET-PF) collaboration, are developing crucial technologies...

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Dilution Refrigerators

Dilution refrigerators are a common technique for reaching temperatures below 1K, particularly where continuous cooling at these temperatures is required. Helium exists in two stable isotopes: 4He and 3He. Naturally occurring 3He is extremely rare, constituting less than 1 part per million of helium gas. However, 3He can be manufactured,...

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards (ODH) are a significant safety issue in cryogenic facilities. ODH occurs when inert gases such as nitrogen, helium or argon displace room air and thus lower the percentage of oxygen in the space below that required for human life. OSHA defines an area as oxygen deficient if...

Kelvin Temperature Scale

The Kelvin temperature scale is the principal temperature scale used in cryogenics and science. The kelvin is also one of the seven base units in the Système International d’Unités (SI) and is the unit of thermodynamic temperature. Thermodynamic temperature is a fundamental physical quantity (like mass, length or electrical current)...

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...

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...