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Scottish Homes to Be Heated by ‘100% Green’ Hydrogen Gas

Households in Scotland could be using “100% green” hydrogen for cooking and heating if plans for a new world-first gas network are approved. Under the proposal from gas distribution network company SGN, an initial 300 homes in Levenmouth will have access to clean hydrogen within two to three years.

Coldest Material in the Cosmos Could Help Scientists Find Dark Matter Particles

Researchers suggest the coldest material in the universe could reveal the presence of dark matter particles. In a new paper published early May in the journal Physical Review Letters, a group of Spanish scientists suggests magnetometers made using Bose-Einstein Condensates could be used to detect exotic spin-dependent forces. Bose-Einstein Condensates...

Mactac Unveils New Cryogenic Labels

Mactac, a North American adhesives, label and packaging company, has launched new cryogenic labelstocks for temperatures as low as -320º F. Mactac’s cryogenic labelstocks are intended for harsh environment applications where labels must withstand exposure to liquid nitrogen or ultralow temperature freezers, thaw cycles, chemicals and solvents.

Successful Trial Operation of World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Trains Completed

Alstom S.A. of Saint-Ouen, France, has announced that after 530 days and more than 180,000 driven kilometers, the successful trial operation of the world’s first two hydrogen trains was officially completed at the end of February.

VTT to Build Finland’s First Quantum Computer, Seeks to Bolster Finland’s and Europe’s Quantum Competitiveness

VTT Technical Research Center in Espoo, Finland, has launched a project to acquire Finland’s first quantum computer. The first phase of this three-phase project seeks to bolster Finland’s ability to design and build quantum computers and to create a competence base for future applications. The design and construction of the...

Coregas Supporting Coal-to-Hydrogen Project in Australia

A world-first project in Victoria, Australia, that will convert brown coal to hydrogen for export to Japan is being supported by the only Australian-owned industrial gas company, Coregas. The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project will see liquefied hydrogen produced from Latrobe Valley brown coal transported to Japan for use...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Stability

Stability refers to the ability of a device employing superconductors to remain in its superconducting state after part of the superconductor transitions back to its normal conducting state due to a disturbance. While the concept can apply to many superconducting devices—transmission lines, generators, motors, etc.—it is most commonly considered in...

Cable-in-Conduit Conductors

Cable-in-Conduit Conductors (CICC) are a common form of superconducting cable used in large-scale applications. There are several varieties of CICCs, but they all consist of many small, stabilized superconducting wires contained within a conduit through which a coolant (typically supercritical He II) flows. Figure 1 shows the cross section of...

Bayonet Coupling

A bayonet coupling is a demountable joint that allows for quick and easy connection and disconnection of cryogenic components, including transfer lines, cryostats, liquefiers and refrigerators. Bayonets provide a number of advantages, chief among them the ability to connect and disconnect the bayonets while components they connect are still at...

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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