ADVERTISEMENT

For the first time, researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris disk that orbits a Sun-like star, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. All the frozen water detected by Webb is paired with fine dust particles throughout the disk. The majority of the water ice observed is found where it’s coldest and farthest from the star. The closer to the star the researchers looked, the less water ice they found. NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

NASA Webb Identifies Frozen Water in Young Star System

Is frozen water scattered in systems around other stars? Astronomers have long expected it is, partially based on previous detections of its gaseous form, water vapor, and its presence in our own solar system. Now there is definitive evidence: Researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris...
A computer-generated image of a liquid hydrogen carrier concept HD Hyundai KSOE is already working on with Woodside Energy and MOLPhoto: DNV

South Korea to Invest $39.2M in Large-Scale Liquid Hydrogen Carriers

South Korea has announced plans to invest 55.5 billion won ($39.2 million) in the development of large-scale liquid hydrogen carriers, with the goal of launching a demonstration ship by 2027. The project is part of the country’s broader effort to take a leading role in the emerging global hydrogen economy....

Interlune Secures Helium-3 Agreements with Maybell Quantum and U.S. Department of Energy

Interlune, a U.S.-based space resources company, has signed landmark agreements to supply lunar-sourced helium-3 to both Maybell Quantum and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Maybell Quantum will be Interlune’s first commercial customer, receiving thousands of liters of helium-3 annually from 2029 to 2035. The helium-3 will support Maybell’s advanced...
Schematic-for-the-Pair-Density-Modulation-Within-Lattice-Unit-Cell

Atomic-Scale Imaging Unlocks New Paths to Next-Gen Superconductors

Atomic-scale imaging reveals that chalcogen atoms play a crucial role in Cooper pairing in Fe-based superconductors, offering new insights into high-Tc superconductivity mechanisms. Superconductivity in quantum materials, whether the Cooper pairing on the Fermi surface is mediated by phonons or by electronic fluctuations, is fundamentally described by Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory....

Superconductivity Inspires New Dark Matter Contender

As traditional dark matter candidates—such as weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), axions, and primordial black holes—continue to elude detection, theorists are exploring more exotic possibilities. Guanming Liang and Robert Caldwell of Dartmouth College have proposed a new dark matter model inspired by the physics of superconductivity [1]. Their proposal draws...
Glen and colleague at NASA, Cape Canaveral. Credit: McIntosh Family Collection

A Salute to an Old Friend, Glen McIntosh-1925-2025

As they say, oftentimes in life we don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone. And only later, upon reflection, do we come to realize and appreciate what we had. Such is the case with my old friend Glen McIntosh. I first met Glen in about 1995, when applying for...

ADVERTISEMENT

Helium-3

Helium-3 (3He) is one of the two stable isotopes of helium. The other is the much more common Helium-4 (4He). Neither of these isotopes should be confused with He II, which is the second liquid phase of 4He. He II was discussed in this column in the Spring 2010 edition...

Cryopumping

Cryopumping refers to the use of cryogenic temperatures to produce vacuum in enclosed spaces. More broadly, it can also refer to the removal of gases via cryogenic temperatures from a flow stream or enclosure without necessarily resulting in vacuum pressures. This is an important application of cryogenics and is used...

Thermal Acoustic Oscillations

Thermal Acoustic Oscillations (TAO) are a common event in cryogenic systems that can have significant adverse effects on the performance of the system. TAOs are sustained pressure oscillations that can occur in tubes containing gas, closed at one end (the warm end) that have a very large temperature gradient along...

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...