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MicroBooNE detects accelerator-born neutrinos

The MicroBooNE collaboration announced on November 2 that its researchers had recorded neutrinos for the first time. The sighting marks the beginning of detailed studies of these fundamental particles whose properties could be linked to dark matter, matter’s dominance over antimatter in the universe and the evolution of the entire...

Layered Thermal Insulation Systems for Below-Ambient Temperature Applications

With increasing system control and reliability requirements as well as demands for higher energy efficiencies, thermal insulation in extreme environments is a growing challenge prompting the publication of new technical consensus standards for cryogenic insulation testing and multilayer insulation (MLI) systems. Different layered thermal insulation systems such as MLI and...

Understanding Multilayer Insulation for Large Spacecraft Cryogenics and Upper Stages

The current exploration plan for NASA includes towing an asteroid into lunar orbit and having astronauts visit it to gain experience with new technologies and methodologies for human exploration of the solar system. While this mission does not need the super high thermal performing insulation of a Martian mission, it...

Cryogenic Safety for Space Launch Vehicles During Ground Operations

United Launch Alliance launches Atlas V from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force launch facilities, and large quantities of cryogenic propellants are stored on-site. These propellants present leak, fire and explosion hazards throughout their handling, starting from the commercial transport trailers' arrival at the launch pad and continuing through storage...

Cryogenic Safety: An Introduction

The scope of cryogenics is vast, but in all its forms, cryogenics presents unique safety hazards, including issues associated with extreme cold, flammability, enhanced combustion due to the presence of liquid oxygen and oxygen displacement caused by gases boiling off from cryogenic liquids. Despite these hazards, if certain guidelines and...

Researchers characterize electron density wave in cuprates

A team led by researchers from the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cornell University has characterized a key arrangement of electrons in a high temperature superconductor. The study, published in the October 26, 2015, online edition of Nature Physics, is the first to identify the atomic-scale origins...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Two-Phase Flows

Two-phase flows are those flows in which there is a mixture of two physical states (solid, liquid or vapor). In cryogenic applications, such flows are almost always a mixture of a cryogenic liquid along with its corresponding vapor. A mixture of liquid helium and helium vapor would be a typical...

Supercritical Fluids

A supercritical fluid is defined as a substance whose temperature and pressure exceed those of its critical point. Every pure substance has a critical point that is defined in thermodynamic space by a critical temperature and a corresponding critical pressure. For example, the critical point for helium has a critical...

Brayton Cycle

The Brayton cycle is one of the many thermodynamic cycles used to generate cooling at cryogenic temperatures. Strictly speaking, when referring to cooling we should call this the reverse Brayton cycle as the original Brayton cycle describes the process of power generation or propulsion via a gas turbine. In many...

Latest in Cryo Central

Cryogenic Treatment of Materials

F.J. Diekman Controlled Thermal Processing, Inc. info@metal-wear.com Cryogenic Processing (also called cryogenic treatment, and incorrectly “cryogenic tempering”) is a process that uses cryogenic temperatures to modify materials to enhance their performance. Cryogenic Processing involves the slow reduction in temperature of the material to at least -300°F (-185°C) and holding the...

Cryogenics in Space

Peter Kittel University of California-Berkeley pkittel@cal.berkeley.edu Space Cryogenics is the application of cryogenics to space missions. These applications fall into two broad areas, supporting space science missions and supporting the space transportation infrastructure. Science applications: The atmosphere is opaque to much of the electro-magnetic spectrum. In space, the absence of...

Cryosurgery

Review of Cryosurgery Boris Rubinsky, PhD Hebrew University School of Science and Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Engineering 78b Ross Building Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904 Israel rubinsky@cs.huji.ac.il as published in Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, August 2000, Vol. 2, pp. 157-187. Abstract: Cryosurgery is a surgical technique that employs freezing...

Liquefied Natural Gas

Liquefied Natural Gas as it relates to the Field of Cryogenics John W. Bonn VJ Systems, LLC johnbonn@vjsystems-lic.com Today the world is looking for a cleaner fuel and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plays a large part in achieving this goal. LNG in a liquid form is at -162°C (-259°F) and...

Latest in Ask the Experts

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...

Separated layers of ice over a pipe

I want to know that why there are different layers of ice over a pipe carrying a cryogenic fluid, each layer separated with clear marks / lines? What do these layers signify?

Using nitrogen as a cryogen

Is it possible to achieve -200˚C using nitrogen as a cryogen?

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