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HiLumi LHC: cryogenics equipment arrives underground

By Corinne Pralavorio The vertiginous descent of equipment into the depths of the accelerator tunnels is always a captivating event. The stars of the show over the last few weeks have been the two gleaming cold boxes that have arrived in the new service tunnels of the High-Luminosity LHC (HiLumi...

Pelican Wire Designs for Cryogenic and Extreme Energy Systems

As renewable energy, electrification and advanced research technologies continue to expand, the demands placed on wire and cable systems are evolving just as rapidly. Higher power densities, tighter system integration and increasingly extreme operating environments are pushing manufacturers beyond traditional commodity wire solutions. Caleb Lemmons, Business Development Manager at Pelican...
Structure model of the newly discovered substance with extraordinary properties. Credit: Maximilian Stremel, Markus Suta, Ingo Widmann, Hubert Huppertz

From Cryogenic to Red-Hot: Optical temperature sensing from 77 K to 873 K

by University of Innsbruck An international collaboration involving researchers from the University of Innsbruck has developed a novel luminescent material that enables particularly robust and precise optical temperature sensing across an exceptionally broad temperature range. Optical luminescence thermometry has been gaining increasing attention, as it allows contactless temperature measurement even under...
Researchers at QuTech, working on a Fujitsu-funded project, have developed the first cryogenic control chip able to directly control both electron and nuclear spins in diamond-based qubits.

Scalable Diamond Quantum Computing with Cryogenic Chip Integration

NV centers are among the most promising qubit platforms, combining fast electron-spin control with exceptionally stable nuclear-spin memories. However, until now, these systems have depended on room-temperature electronics connected by long cables to the cryogenic environment: a setup that considerably hinders scalability and reliability. The new cryo-CMOS controller solves this...
Superconductors are essential to the wholesale overhaul of systems needed to implement the energy transformation. Image: Reuters/Ina Fassbender

What Happens When Industry Demands the Impossible? Superconductors Step In

Energy transformation is not simply a fuel switch – it’s a redesign of the systems that underpin economic growth and national energy security. Electricity demand is rising sharply, driven by the electrification of end uses and the rising demand from data centres and AI. At the same time, power systems...

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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)...

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...

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...