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

“Orange” You Excited for SLAC’s New X-Ray Laser?

See upgrades to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s X-ray laser, including some of the 37 cryomodules to be completed, in a collection of photos showcasing its trademark orange styling, and learn more about the experiments it will enable.

SOFIA Soars to Observe the Universe

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a unique plane-based observatory housed inside a 747 aircraft. A joint project between NASA, Universities Space Research Association, and the German Aerospace Center-DLR since 1997, it takes advantage of the stratosphere to eliminate the absorbing effect atmospheric water has on infrared observations....

Cryogenics Takes Center Stage for PIP-II at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Construction of the Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II) is underway at Fermi National Laboratory (CSA CSM) in Batavia IL. Since the groundbreaking ceremony on March 15, the laboratory team has been preparing for the beam that will contribute to international high energy physics research experiments. The superconducting radio-frequency (SRF)-powered linear...

Cryoablation of Breast Cancer Cells Offers Non-Invasive Option

Breast cancer patients at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles have a promising cryogenic option to significant intrusive surgeries thanks to cryoablation. Dr. Peter Julien, chief of thoracic imaging and tumor ablation at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center at Cedars-Sinai, has been conducting a study using cryoablation to treat...

Young Professionals 2019: The Next Generation in Cryogenics Part 3

Young Professionals 2019 Part 3 introduces outstanding young professionals (under 40 years of age) who are doing interesting things in cryogenics and superconductivity and who show promise of making a difference in their fields.

Fermilab Achieves World-Record Field Strength for Accelerator Magnet

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Fermilab (CSA CSM) have achieved the highest magnetic field strength ever recorded for an accelerator steering magnet, setting a world record of 14.1 teslas, with the magnet cooled to 4.5 kelvin or minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory held the previous record...

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

Cryogenic Electronics

Randall Kirschman, consulting physicist, Mountain View, California ExtElect@gmail.com Cryogenic electronics—the operation of electronic devices, circuits, and systems at cryogenic temperatures—has been a valuable technology for decades. Cryogenic electronics (also referred to as low-temperature electronics, or cold electronics) can be based on semiconductive devices, on superconductive devices, or on a combination...

Particle Physics: High Energy Physics

Cryogenics and High-Energy Physics 1. From symmetry magazine: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000627: Cryogenics is the study of how materials behave at temperatures near absolute zero. In high-energy particle accelerators, such frigid temperatures reduce the electrical resistance of wires in superconducting magnets, increasing the magnet strength and allowing faster particle acceleration. The same holds...

HTS Degaussing Systems

From the Spring 2009 issue of Cold Facts (Volume 25, Number 2): Thanks to a joint project by the US Navy and a number of industry partners, high temperature superconducting (HTS) technology is now at the heart of an advanced degaussing system aboard the USS Higgins at the naval station...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

From http://www.superconductors.org: An area where superconductors can perform a life-saving function is in the field of biomagnetism. Doctors need a non-invasive means of determining what’s going on inside the human body. By impinging a strong superconductor-derived magnetic field into the body, hydrogen atoms that exist in the body’s water and...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Presence of alloying elements in tool steels

I want to expand my knowledge of cryogenics in general and tool steels in particular. Specifically, I am keenly interested in learning about the presence of alloying elements in tool steels and how their presence in various combinations affects the performance of tool steels after cryogenic treatment.

Pros and cons of barcoding samples

I was wondering if I could ask for input on pros and cons of barcoding. We are in the process of trying to decide if we should start barcoding our samples and I’m just not sure if this is feasible for our organization. We have numerous sites all over the...

Purity level of helium gas stream in cryo plant purification system

I would like to know what the principal methods and the relative instrumentation to check the purity level of helium gas stream in the purification system of a common helium cryogenic plant are. What principles are these instruments based on? And what are their principal characteristics?

LN2 for cryopreservation through controlled rate freezing of samples

I am the cryogenic specialist for a stem cell bank in Greece. I am trying to find the minimum requirements (purity, humidity, etc.) of liquid nitrogen for cryopreservation through controlled rate freezing of biological samples.

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