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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

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

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

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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