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Dark Energy Instrument’s Lenses See the Night Sky for the First Time

On April 1, the dome of the Mayall Telescope in Tucson AZ opened to the night sky, and starlight poured through the assembly of six large lenses that were carefully packaged and aligned for a new instrument that will launch later this year.

Advanced Superconducting Motor Experimental Demonstrator Addresses Environmental Concerns

Demaco Holland BV (CSA CSM) is lending its cryogenic expertise to the development of a rotor cryostat for the Advanced Supeconducting Motor Experimental Demonstrator, which will develop, build and test the first fully superconductive motor for aerospace applications.

Women in Cryogenics and Superconductivity 2019

CSA celebrates women in cryogenics and superconductivity. In this feature, six women in positions across the industry discuss current projects, how they entered the field and their thoughts on attracting more women to the profession.

NIST Explains the New Kelvin Definition

The definition of the kelvin (K)—the temperature unit of the International System of Units (SI), has been given a radically new definition. This redefinition was the result of 60 nations’ unanimous vote to revise the SI in November 2018.

CSA Joins CGA, GAWDA To Protest Helium Inhalation in Ad

We at the Cryogenic Society of America add our voice to that of the Compressed Gas Association and GAWDA in expressing our deep concern about a State Farm commercial that has been running across the country, depicting an accident in a tunnel with an overturned helium truck.

CERN Unveils Its Science Gateway Project

CERN is launching the Science Gateway, a new scientific education and outreach center targeting the general public of all ages. The building will be designed by world-renowned architects Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The project will be funded through external donations, with the leading contribution coming from FCA Foundation, a charitable...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Dilution Refrigerators

Dilution refrigerators are a common technique for reaching temperatures below 1K, particularly where continuous cooling at these temperatures is required. Helium exists in two stable isotopes: 4He and 3He. Naturally occurring 3He is extremely rare, constituting less than 1 part per million of helium gas. However, 3He can be manufactured,...

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards (ODH) are a significant safety issue in cryogenic facilities. ODH occurs when inert gases such as nitrogen, helium or argon displace room air and thus lower the percentage of oxygen in the space below that required for human life. OSHA defines an area as oxygen deficient if...

Kelvin Temperature Scale

The Kelvin temperature scale is the principal temperature scale used in cryogenics and science. The kelvin is also one of the seven base units in the Système International d’Unités (SI) and is the unit of thermodynamic temperature. Thermodynamic temperature is a fundamental physical quantity (like mass, length or electrical current)...

Latest in Cryo Central

Air Separation and Liquefaction

by Nils Tellier, PE, President, EPSIM Corporation (CSA CSM) nils@epsim.us All illustrations courtesy EPSIM Corporation Background History of Air Separation and Liquefaction This section builds on a rich history of methods to develop deep refrigeration and cryogenic liquefaction during the 19th Century. You are encouraged to read Cryo Central’s History...

Bose-Einstein Condensate

A Bose-Einstein condensate, first proposed in 1925 by Albert Einstein based on work done by Satyendra Nath Bose (the same Bose from whom the term boson is derived), is a super-cold state of matter in which almost all of the individual atoms have “condensed” down to the lowest possible quantum...

Cold Technology for Pest Control

While it does not reach temperatures cold enough to be called cryogenic, carbon dioxide snow is at the heart of a new way of dealing with unwanted pests. It utilizes a quick freezing process that takes advantage of the properties of carbon dioxide snow and has a number of benefits...

Cryogenic Finishing

The following 3 articles discuss the uses and procedures of various type of cryogenic finishing. 1) By Robin A. Rhodes, Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Cryogenic Deflashing is employed to remove undesired residual mold flash that remains on molded parts after they are removed or ejected from the...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Seeking alloy that keeps elastic property down to 10K

I am looking for a metal (alloy) that supports high temperatures (at least 1600K) and keeps its elastic property at low temperatures down to 10K. Rhenium is a good one because it does not become brittle. But it is quite expensive. Pure tungsten and molybdenum enter in the brittle regime...

Searching for a freezer that does not need electricity

I’m student of University of Barcelona. We do technical cryogenic research and we are searching for a cryogenic portable freezer that does not need electricity. We can’t find any company that offers something like this. The product we are looking for is the typical portable freezer for food or drinks...

FEP Encapsulated O rings in the cryogenic process

Can you please advise if FEP Encapsulated O rings are used within the cryogenic process and what materials? I have been asked by my company to write about FEP Encapsulated O rings for a training seminar.

Need material property data for polycrystalline / sintered ceramics

I am a ME grad student currently working on the design of a detector array / focal plate of a scientific space instrument operating at a temperature of about -80…-100°C. Although this is not in the cryogenic temperature range, I would like to address two questions to you as the...

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