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“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

Mixed Refrigerant Cycles

Most cryogenic refrigeration systems, both large scale systems and cryocoolers, use helium as a working fluid. There are a number of advantages to helium, not the least of which is that helium remains a fluid down to the lowest achievable temperatures. In order to freeze helium, pressures of over 20...

Fountain Pumps and He II Phase Separators

Helium II (He II), the second liquid phase of the 4He isotope described in this column in Cold Facts Spring 2010 (http://2csa.us/he2), can be modeled as consisting of two interpenetrating fluids. One, the superfluid component, has zero viscosity and entropy and the other, the normal fluid component, has nonzero viscosity...

Turboexpanders

A vital technology in the refrigerators and liquefiers described in Cold Facts Volume 31 Number 3 is that of turboexpanders. These devices are rotating machines in which the process fluid (e.g., helium) does work against the turboexpander while moving from high pressure to a lower pressure and thus is cooled....

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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