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New test using cryogenic sapphire oscillators confirms speed of light

Researchers from the University of Western Australia and Humboldt University of Berlin used cryogenic temperatures to optimize frequency stability in a test designed to measure the spatial consistency of the speed of light with a precision ten times greater than ever before. The experiment compared the extremely pure microwave frequency...

Young Faces: The Next Generation in Cryogenics

We're pleased to present a new installment of Young Faces, a feature story we debuted in the Summer 2006 issue of Cold Facts introducing outstanding young professionals (under 40 years of age) who are doing interesting things in cryogenics and superconductivity and who show promise of making a difference in...

CSA Awards Presented at CEC/ICMC

John Weisend, CSA chairman, presented four awards at CEC/ICMC on July 1, including the first-ever William E. Gifford Award, given to a recipient in academia or at a government laboratory using a pulse tube or Gifford-McMahon cycle cryocooler as a key research component.

The 26th Space Cryogenics Workshop

This column presents a topical summary of the 2015 Space Cryogenics Workshop that was held June 24-26 in Phoenix AZ. The workshop was organized by David Plachta and Jason Hartwig of NASA/Glenn Research Center, and continued the tradition of bringing together specialists in the field of space cryogenics to discuss...

An Introduction to LNG as a Cryofuel

Technological advances in the US have unlocked massive quantities of natural gas, resulting in an abundant supply that should easily last many decades. This sustained situation has created two important consequences: the price of pipeline natural gas is low and stable, and, more significantly, the price of pipeline natural gas...

Improving the Efficiency of Helium Transfer Tubes

One must, on a daily basis, transfer liquefied gases, most notably helium from large static tanks or dewars to smaller transportable vessels. This process can become costly due to the losses sustained during transfer, which must be compensated for by reliquefying helium, requiring between 2 and 5 kW per liquid...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

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)...

Latest in Cryo Central

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...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Information on how the emissivity of the panel changes with air fouling?

I work at a facility with a large thermal vacuum chamber. We are using both nitrogen and helium shrouds.

In search of a calculation for designing a cryostat

I am a final year physics student at the University of Birmingham, and as part of a group I am currently designing a cryostat. One of the calculations I need to make (very soon!) is how much heat will be conducted down the walls. All information I have found so...

Safety of ethylene glycol and pressurized oxygen

We are reviewing the product design of liquid filled differential level gauges and want to insure that they meet the industry requirements. The former license owner had authorized that a fill fluid of ethylene glycol (68%) and distilled water (32%) could be used for oxygen service up to 500 psi....

Heat flux in case of vacuum loss on cryogenic surfaces?

Is there anyone who has information about the heat flux in case of vacuum loss on cryogenic surfaces?

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