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Experiments Explore the Mysteries of “Magic” Angle Superconductors

A team led by Princeton physicist Ali Yazdani has shown that strong electron interactions play a key role in the superconductivity that has been discovered in graphene, a material made up of single-layer sheets of carbon atoms.

LHC Magnet Repair Has Begun

Major work is underway on the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with the extraction of magnets from the accelerator tunnel. During the second long shutdown, 22 of these large magnet components (including 19 dipoles) have to be replaced, especially as several have been showing operating deficiencies.

Resurrected Detector Will Hunt for Some of the Strangest Particles in the Universe

Brought from Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory two years ago, ICARUS—an outdated acronym for Imaging Cosmic And Rare Underground Signals—will soon start a second life seeking perhaps the strangest particles physicists have dreamed up, oddballs called sterile neutrinos. Icarus will resume the neutrino hunt at Fermilab. If they exist, sterile...

Aerogel Could Be a Key Building Material for Mars

NASA scientists are exploring how aerogel, a translucent, Styrofoam-like material, could be used as a building material on Mars. Aerogel retains heat; structures built with it could raise temperatures enough to melt water ice on the Martian surface.

North Dakota Cattle Ranchers Now Have an Alternative to Hot Branding

Under North Dakota House Bill 1166, freeze branding became a legal method for ranchers to show ownership of cattle, according the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association. Freeze branding uses dry ice or liquid nitrogen to cool a branding iron, which is then pressed into an animal’s hide to mark it for...

Chart Industries Supplies Nitro Beverage Manufacturers

Chart liquid nitrogen dosing technology supports and expands the distribution of Cold Brewed Coffee. Liquid nitrogen dosing adds pressure in the can for the packaging process.

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

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

Manufacturers of cryogenic regenerator lead spheres?

Would you please suggest a few manufacturers that produce cryogenic regenerator lead spheres? The size we need is 0.15mm-0.2mm. I don’t have a lot of ideas for where to go to purchase them.

Assistance with resolving a sealing problem?

We are fabricating piping components for refrigeration service. These components must be leak checked at 15 bar (218 psig). We are using a gas test media that is 25% helium and experiencing difficulty on maintaining a seal on the flanged connections. Do you know anyone or any references that could...

Cryogenic data on leather and nomex

Could anyone please help me out with the following cryogenics data: Leather — mechanical properties at 77 K or lower Nomex — thermal conductivity @ 4 to 50 K I lost the data I had some time ago and although this should be easily accessible, I can’t find any reference...

Thermal expansion data for quartz at cryogenic temperatures (20 – 300 K).

I am looking for thermal expansion data for quartz at cryogenic temperatures (20 – 300 K). Does anyone have any such data?

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