Cryocoolers, a Brief Overview
Cryocoolers are a type of refrigerator designed to reach cryogenic temperatures. Engineers use the term most often for smaller systems, typically no larger than table-top size, with input powers less than about 20 kW.
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2nd International Conference on Cryogenics and Refrigeration Technologies
The city of Bucharest hosted the 2nd International Congress on Cryogenics and Refrigeration Technologies May 7-10, welcoming attendees with delicious food, pleasant parks, numerous museums and plenty of research and conversation.
Columbia Researchers Squeeze Light into Nanoscale Devices and Circuits
Columbia investigators have invented of a novel "home-built" cryogenic near-field optical microscope that has enabled them to directly image, for the first time, the propagation and dynamics of graphene plasmons at variable temperatures down to -250°C.
OPERA Presents Its Final Results on Neutrino Oscillations
In a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the OPERA collaboration reports the observation of a total of 10 muon to tau-neutrino conversion events, demonstrating unambiguously that muon neutrinos oscillate into tau neutrinos on their way from CERN, where muon neutrinos were produced, to OPERA at the Gran...
NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Launches, Coldest Spot in Universe Now on ISS
NASA's Cold Atom Lab (CAL) facility was included in the cargo that launched to the International Space Station on the Orbital ATK CRS-9 mission. CAL produces clouds of atoms that are ten billion times colder than deep space, using lasers and magnetic forces to freeze the atoms until they are...
Canadian Researchers Working on Novel MRI for ISS
The Canadian Space Agency has awarded a research team at the University of Saskatchewan a contract to design and engineer an ankle-sized MRI device for the International Space Station. The device, according to the team, will ultimately monitor the bone health of astronauts during prolonged space trips, where weightless conditions...
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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...
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...
Rotating shaft seal for liquid to gaseous hydrogen?
I am constructing a cryogenic generator for the Air Force. It operates at 15,000 rpm for Liquid Hydrogen. I need a rotating shaft seal that will work with liquid to gaseous hydrogen. Where can I source seals for this application?
Source to help with cryo-treating a Nickel-Aluminum-Bronze impeller?
I am a graduate student at Penn State University working on a cavitation resistance project via cryo-treating a Nickel-Aluminum-Bronze impeller.
Looking for technical papers on the effect of processing metals at liquid helium temperatures.
I am a metallurgical engineer looking for technical papers on the effect of processing metals at liquid helium temperatures. In anyone familiar with any work in this field?
Quantitative data on mechanical properties for AISI 4340 alloy steel
I have a potential client who is looking for quantitative data on mechanical properties, particularly fatigue properties, with and without cryogenic tempering at -300/-320 degrees F for AISI 4340 alloy steel. Can you point me in the right direction?