ADVERTISEMENT

A Superconductor Story with a Twist

There’s a literal disturbance in the force that alters what physicists have long thought of as a characteristic of superconductivity, according to Rice University scientists. Rice physicists Pengcheng Dai and Andriy Nevidomskyy and their colleagues used simulations and neutron scattering experiments that show the atomic structure of materials to reveal...

Uganda’s First Cryopreservation Unit is Conserving Banana Diversity

Christopher Bendana of Cornell University’s Alliance for Science reports that Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) is using liquid nitrogen to conserve banana cell lines in a pioneering effort that could help researchers striving to combat disease and climate threats. The science of storing tissues in liquid nitrogen, also commonly...

NASA to Partner with US Companies to Develop ‘tipping point’ Technologies

NASA is partnering with US companies to develop “tipping point” technologies that have the potential to significantly benefit the commercial space economy and future NASA missions, including lunar lander and deep space rocket engine technologies. Several of these partnerships involve cryogenics. A technology is considered at a “tipping point” if...

Why Cryo-EM is Gaining Popularity in Structural Biology

Cryo-electron microscopy, also known as Cryo-EM, is a technique for visualizing macromolecular structures which has been developed over the last two decades. Shelley Farrar reports that Cryo-EM is a form of transmission electron microscopy which permits samples to be studied at cryogenic temperatures. Biological structures such as ribosomes and mitochondria...

Dr. Roger W. Boom: In Memoriam

It is with great regret that we report the death of Dr. Roger W. Boom, emeritus professor from the University of Wisconsin and mentor and inspiration to a great many leaders in the fields of cryogenic engineering and superconductivity. Dr. Boom’s career spanned more than thirty years during which he...

New Study Calls for US-based Electron Ion Collider Development

A new report, sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and undertaken by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, argues that a domestic electron ion collider could unlock the scientific mysteries of atomic nuclei and maintain US leadership in accelerator science.

ADVERTISEMENT

Transfer Lines

Transfer lines may in some real sense be thought of as the cryogenic fluid analogy of current leads. While current leads carry electrical power to where it’s required in a cryogenic system, transfer lines do the same with cryogenic fluids. Transfer lines range in complexity from very simple U-tubes containing...

Zero Boiloff

Zero Boil Off cryostats are those that contain liquid cryogens but are designed to eliminate or vastly reduce the boil off of  the liquid. These cryostats combine some of the advantages of Cryogen-Free systems (e.g. ease of use and long operational lifetime) with the advantages associated with a reservoir of liquid...

Cryomodule

Cryomodule is a term that is most commonly used to refer to cryostats that contain superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. Such cavities are used to accelerate charged particle beams and are a major component of modern particle accelerators. Using the term cryomodule to refer to cryostats containing SRF cavities appears...

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...