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MiniCLEAN detector begins search for dark matter

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, after eight years of designing and building, have begun commissioning and cooling the MiniCLEAN detector, a small experiment with the big goal of detecting dark matter. CLEAN stands for Cryogenic Low-Energy Astrophysics with Nobles. Scientists will use the detector to search for weakly interacting...

CSA protests misleading NY Times front page cryonics story

CSA Executive Director Laurie Huget responds to a September 13 front page New York Times article by Amy Harmon on Kim Suozzi, a young woman who decided to have her brain put on storage by cryonics.

Air Liquide expands its business in Turkey

Air Liquide advanced Technologies expanded its foothold in Turkey on September 15 with the acquisition of Messer Aligaz Sanayi Gazlari, a subsidiary of industrial gas company Messer Group GmbH. Messer Aligaz provides industrial, medical and specialty gases to a range of industries in Turkey. The company owns and operates an...

Researchers observe dynamic Mott transition in superconductors

An international team of researchers, including the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Twente in The Netherlands and the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (CSA CSM), has announced the first observation of a dynamic Mott transition in a superconductor. The discovery experimentally connects the worlds of...

FDA accepts BioCision’s ThawSTAR master file

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this month accepted the Device Master File (MAF) submission for BioCision's ThawSTAR automated cell thawing system. The ThawSTAR MAF encompasses information pertaining to the specifications, materials and quality and manufacturing processes used in producing the ThawSTAR system.

Study shows economics impact of cryogenics in UK

A study by Warwick Economics & Development (WECD) that was commissioned by the Science & Technology Facilities Council shows that the UK's strong cryogenics community delivers substantial economic impact to the country's economy. Based on supply chain analysis, WECD estimates that sectors broadly associated with cryogenics represent 17 percent of...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Dewar

A dewar is a type of cryostat named after Sir James Dewar, the researcher who first developed the concept of a vacuum insulated container with silvered walls to reflect thermal radiation. Dewar was the first to liquefy hydrogen, and he created the device to store his discovery. The thermos bottle...

Stirling and Gifford-McMahon Cryocoolers

Stirling and Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocoolers are two of the most commonly used cryocoolers in cryogenics. Both devices have a significant industrial base and operate at a wide range of temperatures and capacities. The thermodynamic cycles for both of these cryocoolers are quite similar. The Stirling cycle consists of a compressor,...

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

A significant commercial application of cryogenics is the liquefaction, transport and storage of natural gas. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is generally 95 percent methane with a few percent ethane and much lower concentrations of propane and butane. LNG liquefies at 111.6 K. Unlike many applications of cryogenics, the motivation for...

Latest in Cryo Central

History of Cryogenics

From the Fall 1999 issue of Cold Facts magazine Millennium Breakthroughs A variety of CSA members give different perspectives on the past millennium: What were the most significant breakthroughs in cryogenics during the past millennium? Prof. R.G. Scurlock, Kryos Technology, scurlock@soton.ac.uk (“Breakthrough” = way through obstacles — Oxford English Dictionary)...

Cryobiology

Andreas Sputtek Past President Society for Cryobiology sputtek@uke.uni-hamburg.de or http://www.sputtek.de/. The word cryobiology (from the Greek words “cryo” = cold, “bios” = life, and “logos” = science) literally signifies the science of life at low temperatures. In practice, this field comprises the study of any biological material or system (e.g.,...

Cryogenic Insulation

James E. Fesmire Cryogenics Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center james.e.fesmire@nasa.gov Introduction In today’s world, the use of cryogenics and low-temperature refrigeration is taking a more and more significant role. From the food industry, transportation, energy, and medical applications to the Space Shuttle, cryogenic liquids must be stored, handled, and...

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...

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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