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

Scientists Enter Unexplored Territory in Superconductivity Search

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have been trying to understand key characteristics that cause superconductivity. They have used a combination of experimental techniques to plot points in a previously unmapped region of the "phase diagram” of BSCCO, a high-temperature superconductor.

Manufacturing in the Cradle of the Cryostat

Major cryogenic projects are underway in Hazira, India, where Larsen & Tourbo Ltd is wrapping up the cryostat system designed for the ITER project in France. The company began associated work in 2015, including segments for the ITER cryostat's base section, and is now finishing its contribution with the 490-ton...

ORNL Team Recognized as Highly Cited Researchers

Fifteen scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (CSA CSM) have been named 2018 Highly Cited Researchers. The list recognizes scientists for exceptional performance, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top one percent by citations.

LHC Ends Second Season, Prepares for New Achievements

Expert team members from CERN turned off the Large Hadron Collider in early December, ending the successful second run of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. The complex will be shut down for about two years, according to CERN, enabling both major upgrades and renovation work.

MIT Discovers Material that Performs as Both Topological Insulator and Superconductor

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports that the exact same material can be turned into either a topological insulator or a superconductor. The new findings reveal that in a single-layer crystal form, at temperatures from less than 1 K to the liquid nitrogen range of -320°F, hosts three distinct phases,...

Cool Innovations for Clean Energy

Cryogenic technology is making it possible for liquid air, nitrogen and methane—including methane derived from cow slurry—to play roles in combating global warming. Read more about these efforts in coverage from physicsworld.

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

TS diagram for helium

Where can I obtain a really big, nice TS diagram for helium ?

Reliability and mounting of electronic substrates at low temperatures

I am currently working on the design of a focal plane assembly to be implemented on a small satellite (4 EMCCD detectors) to be operated at -80°C (which is not really cryogenic and likely still considered boiling hot for most of you :-). As it is passively cooled, the assembly...

Are 3D drawings included in the sale of a cryogenic plant?

I have a question concerning the 3D drawings of a cryogenic plant. The integration of the 3D drawings of a plant with the 3D main model of a new laboratory or a new facility can be a complex work that takes a lot of time. I would like to know...

Looking for a source of LOX impact testing to ASTM D2512

I have been looking for a source of LOX impact testing to ASTM D2512. I am aware of NASA and White Sands, but am looking for a commercial entity doing the work. No luck so far, even calling a lot of the folks on the CSA website. Any referrals will...

CATEGORIES