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Researchers create first superconducting graphene

Physicists at the University of British Columbia have created the first-ever superconducting graphene sample by coating it with lithium atoms. Although superconductivity has already been observed in intercalated bulk graphite—3-D crystals layered with alkali metal atoms, based on the graphite used in pencils—inducing superconductivity in single-layer graphene has until now...

ATLAS and CMS experiments shed light on Higgs properties

Three years after the announcement of the discovery of a new particle, the so-called Higgs boson, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN have combined their analyses of the data collected in 2011 and 2012 to draw the sharpest picture yet of this novel boson. ATLAS and CMS presented their...

Hybrid DC circuit breaker solution based on cryogenic technique

A hybrid DC circuit breaker comprised of a cryogenic contactor in series with a superconductor has recently been developed at NASA Glenn Research Center. This circuit breaker combines mechanical and solid-state technology to meet the needs of certain DC power system applications.

Issue No. 33 of Superconductivity News Forum is online

The quarterly Issue No. 33 of the Superconductivity News Forum (SNF) dated July 2015 is now available online at the IEEE Council on Superconductivity's website. The publication of the present issue was delayed to accommodate selected presentations and preprints from the recent CEC/ICMC 2015 and ISEC 2015.

10 years since Snowmass: an ILC timeline

Ten years ago, scientists from all over the world gathered in the picturesque town of Snowmass to constitute a new global collaboration for a future particle collider called the International Linear Collider (ILC). LC Newsline has compiled a timeline showing what has happened in these 10 years since Snowmass and...

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Mixed Refrigerant Cycles

Most cryogenic refrigeration systems, both large scale systems and cryocoolers, use helium as a working fluid. There are a number of advantages to helium, not the least of which is that helium remains a fluid down to the lowest achievable temperatures. In order to freeze helium, pressures of over 20...

Fountain Pumps and He II Phase Separators

Helium II (He II), the second liquid phase of the 4He isotope described in this column in Cold Facts Spring 2010 (http://2csa.us/he2), can be modeled as consisting of two interpenetrating fluids. One, the superfluid component, has zero viscosity and entropy and the other, the normal fluid component, has nonzero viscosity...

Turboexpanders

A vital technology in the refrigerators and liquefiers described in Cold Facts Volume 31 Number 3 is that of turboexpanders. These devices are rotating machines in which the process fluid (e.g., helium) does work against the turboexpander while moving from high pressure to a lower pressure and thus is cooled....

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...