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Scientists Observe Ultrafast Vortices in Superconductors

A research team has made the first direct visual observation and measurement of ultrafast vortex dynamics in superconductors. The technique used, detailed in the journal Nature Communications, could contribute to the development of novel practical applications by optimizing superconductor properties for use in electronics, according to the scientists.

What Really Happens During an LHC Collision?

The Large Hadron Collider, with its 17-mile circumference, is definitely large, but the latter fraction of its name is a little misleading. That’s because what collides in the LHC are the tiny pieces inside the hadrons, not the hadrons themselves.

Researchers Discover Evidence of Majorana Fermions

In a series of lab experiments on exotic materials, scientists from the University of California and Stanford University have discovered "firm evidence" of particles that are their own antiparticles. Physicists have been looking for such Majorna fermions since physicist Ettore Majorana predicted them in 1937. The result is currently more...

LHCb Announces a Charming New Particle

Researchers from the LHCb experiment at CERN reported the observation of a new particle from the baryon family. It contains two charm quarks and one up quark. The mass of the newly identified particle is about 3621 MeV, almost four times heavier than the most familiar baryon, the proton, a...

NIST Probes Future of Supercomputing

NIST researchers have developed an automated probe system to evaluate computer components submitted by both private sector and federal labs to the Cryogenic Computing Complexity (C3) program. C3 aims to enable a new generation of low-power superconducting supercomputers that operate at liquid helium temperatures and use ultra-fast switching of microscopic...

Reviving SMES, One Niche at a Time

Many projects in applied superconductivity hold great promise for the energy sector, but have failed to catch on due to cost, competition from established systems, perceived risk and other factors. Among them is Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES), a system that stores energy in the form of a magnetic field....

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Mixed Refrigerant Cycles

Most cryogenic refrigeration systems, both large scale systems and cryocoolers, use helium as a working fluid. There are a number of advantages to helium, not the least of which is that helium remains a fluid down to the lowest achievable temperatures. In order to freeze helium, pressures of over 20...

Fountain Pumps and He II Phase Separators

Helium II (He II), the second liquid phase of the 4He isotope described in this column in Cold Facts Spring 2010 (http://2csa.us/he2), can be modeled as consisting of two interpenetrating fluids. One, the superfluid component, has zero viscosity and entropy and the other, the normal fluid component, has nonzero viscosity...

Turboexpanders

A vital technology in the refrigerators and liquefiers described in Cold Facts Volume 31 Number 3 is that of turboexpanders. These devices are rotating machines in which the process fluid (e.g., helium) does work against the turboexpander while moving from high pressure to a lower pressure and thus is cooled....

Food Processing

Cryogenics and Food The industrial gas industry provides a host of products and services related to food. The various gases have useful and sometimes fascinating applications in food industry. “The food industry is not a homogenous industry. The needs of customers processing hamburger vs. poultry vs. strawberries vs. seafood, for...

Primary Standards

Elie K. Track Hypres, Inc. elie@hypres.com http://www.hypres.com/ Primary standards involve the exact definition and realization of units of measurement for various quantities, time, length, mass, voltage, resistance, current, etc. International agreements based on the latest scientific knowledge define those units, and their realizations vary depending on the unit itself. For...

Shrink Fitting

Robin A. Rhodes Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Shrink fitting, (or “compression fitting” as it is sometimes called), is a method used to insert a pin or bushing into a housing or other assembly requiring an extremely tight tolerance fit. It can be used as an alternative to...

Telecommunications

From the Winter 2004 issue of Cold Facts magazine The recent M-Calc IV — 4th Industry Assessment workshop discussing military and commercial applications for low-cost cryocoolers, held in November in San Diego, highlighted progress being made in cryogenics as applied in telecommunications. The reliability and long lifetime of projects now...

An Issue of Pressure and Flow Rate in a Supply Tank

Please help solve this problem: A supply tank requires a vaporizer to generate sufficient pressure to pump stored fluid up into a vehicle or tank. The available head is limited as the tank level falls and it is important to minimize the system pressure drop to maintain the desired flow...

Using MLI on VJ Line Joints or Cryo Storage Tanks

When installing Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets on VJ line joints or cryo storage tanks should they be wrapped and tied down tight or loose? These are usually pre-cut to size. Also should they have an access hole at the point of where the molecular sieve is installed to help...