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Cold Facts Antarctica

Techno-Economics of Liquid Hydrogen Supply for Australian Antarctic Operations

Antarctic research productivity relies on consistent access to energy. Increased availability of cheaper and cleaner energy could enhance the research capacity at Antarctic stations and expand the frequency of research flights using aircraft such as the Basler BT-67 (a modified DC3) to map climate change impacts on glaciers. The Australian...

Meet the 2025 Young Professionals

Qian Bao, 37 What is your educational and professional background? I completed my undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. Following that, I earned my Master’s degree from Tohoku University in Japan, where my research focused on computational fluid dynamics simulations involving two-phase flow. Specifically, I worked...

Superconductivity Mystery: Scientists Challenge a 50-Year Theory of Electron Behavior

A recent study found that the Hubbard model failed to accurately predict the behavior of a simplified one-dimensional cuprate system. According to scientists at SLAC, this suggests the model is unlikely to fully account for high-temperature superconductivity in two-dimensional cuprates. Superconductivity—the ability of materials to conduct electricity without energy loss—holds...

IBM to Invest $150 Billion in U.S. Over Next Five Years to Aid Quantum Push

IBM has announced plans to invest $150 billion in the United States over the next five years, marking one of the most significant commitments by a major tech company to bolster American manufacturing and emerging technologies. A substantial portion of this investment, over $30 billion, will be directed specifically toward...

Quantum Computing’s Breakthrough Moment in Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

The National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) has released its first Insights Paper, offering a powerful look at how quantum computing could reshape healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Developed through extensive engagement with industry leaders, researchers, and policymakers, the paper delivers clear, actionable insights for healthcare executives, pharmaceutical innovators, policymakers, and funders. The...

A New Chapter for Carbon Capture

As industries worldwide race toward decarbonization, reliable solutions that balance emissions goals with energy demands remain elusive. But a new partnership between Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) and Chart Industries (NYSE: GTLS) signals a promising shift—one that could redefine how energy-intensive sectors like data centers and manufacturers approach carbon capture and...

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Regenerators

Regenerators or regenerative heat exchangers are a key component of cryocoolers such as pulse tube cryocoolers (Cold Facts, August 2014). Regenerator performance greatly affects the coefficient of performance of cryocoolers. Improvements in regenerator design and, in particular, regenerator materials have been an important factor in the improvement of the performance...

Pulse Tube Cryocoolers

The development of pulse tube cryocoolers has been a significant topic of research and development over the past 20 or so years. Pulse tube cryocoolers have a number of advantages over other types of cryocoolers and are now available commercially. In order to understand pulse tube cryocoolers, it’s best to...

Thermal Expansion

Thermal expansion refers to the change in size (length or volume) that a material undergoes as its temperature changes. In cryogenic systems this effect can be quite large and must be allowed for in the design. In isotropic materials, which include most engineering materials, the thermal expansion is the same...

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...

Seeking recommendations for commercial sensors

I would like to measure vibrations in small LHe cryostats. Could anybody recommend commercial sensors which would be suitable for the purpose? I am interested in the frequency range between 1Hz and a couple of KHz, with particular attention to the low frequency side.

Estimating cost of carbon steel, pure helium storage tanks

In order to perform an indicative cost assessment of our helium cryogenic plant (still in the design phase), I need an estimation of the cost of carbon steel room temperature pure helium storage tanks. The storage pressure is 20 bar. Can anyone give me suggestions about how to estimate the...

Supplier of pressure sensor that works down to 4.2 K

In an actual experiment we would like to measure the static pressure in a cryostat in the range between one and four bar. Therefore we are looking for some (more or less) cheap pressure sensors that work in liquid helium in the pressure range up to five bar. Unfortunately all...

Looking for reference/textbook suggestions

Can you suggest some reference textbooks for practical thermodynamics applications in cryogenic fields? I need textbooks with cryogenics calculations and examples, dimensioning procedures, second principle applications in cryogenics, heat load calculations, cryogenic pump application, etc. Do such books exist? Does any similar source of information exist?