Cold Facts Digital – The go-to place for Cryogenics and Superconductivity

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...

JetZero Partners with SHZ to Explore Liquid Hydrogen-Powered All-Wing Aircraft

US-based aircraft developer JetZero has partnered with French startup SHZ Advanced Technologies to explore a hydrogen-powered version of its Z4 all-wing design. Under the agreement, the clean aircraft venture will support SHZ in adapting its patented liquid hydrogen storage and distribution technologies for a Z4 variant, expected to deliver...

Air Products Successfully Completes First Liquid Hydrogen Fill of the World’s Largest Hydrogen Sphere at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

Image: Air Products Air Products (NYSE:APD), the world’s leading supplier of hydrogen, today announced it has successfully completed the first fill of the world’s largest hydrogen sphere at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Center located on Merritt Island, Florida. NASA uses liquid hydrogen combined with liquid...

Fusion’s physics is solved, but its future hinges on breakthroughs in cryogenic steels and other materials that can withstand the extreme demands inside reactors.

Scientists Have Developed ‘Super Steel’ That Could Take Fusion To The Next Level

The physics of fusion energy is no longer the great unknown. Scientists are confident that if you confine superheated plasma at nearly 100 million °C using heavy hydrogen isotopes, you’ll get a self-sustaining reaction capable of delivering abundant, clean power. The real challenge now lies elsewhere: finding materials that can...

GenH2’s Liquid Hydrogen Innovation Earns NASA Nomination for Prestigious Invention of the Year Award

Image: GenH2 Company’s Cryostat CS500 Recognized for Commercialization of NASA-Developed Technology with Honorable Mention TITUSVILLE, FL, UNITED STATES — GenH2 Corp., a Path2 Hydrogen Company, a leader in liquid hydrogen infrastructure solutions, announced today that NASA nominated its Cryostat CS500 simulation test platform at the Kennedy Space Center for the agency’s prestigious Commercial Invention...

Quantum Breakthrough: Scientists Find “Backdoor” to 60-Year-Old Superconducting Mystery

Scientists in Copenhagen have built an artificial platform to mimic elusive quantum states in superconductors, bypassing decades-old detection challenges. A Copenhagen team has unlocked a clever “backdoor” into studying rare quantum states once thought beyond reach. Scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, have discovered a new approach...

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

Any experience with Tungsten or Tantalum metal springs in a low temp environment?

I would like to use metal springs made of Tungsten or Tantalum in low temperature environment. Does anybody have any experience with such springs? More precisely, I would like to make compression springs by rolling tungsten or tantalum wire on a rod. I expect that, typically, the spring constant will...

Standards & specifications for pipe & tube couplings

I am interested in finding out more about cryogenic applications and what standards, specifications and test methods (ASTM, etc.) are required for qualification of pipe and tube couplings.

Looking for a test house to test the static coefficient of friction under cryogenic conditions

I am looking to find a test house that is capable of testing the static coefficient of friction under cryogenic conditions. We can be flexible on most of the test parameters, including the test coupon configuration, but we’re looking for a test house that can provide the following test environment:...

Approximating pressure changes over time in cryogenic cylinders

I am an Air Resources Engineer with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). My senior management has asked me to investigate approximating pressure changes over time in cryogenic cylinders that contain LNG. So far, I have taken a stab at the problem, seeking to take a back-of-the-envelope approach (as directed...

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