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IEEE CSC Graduate Study Fellowship winners announced

The IEEE Council on Superconductivity (CSC) Awards Committee has announced the winners of the 2015 IEEE CSC Graduate Study Fellowship. The fellowship is awarded annually to a full-time graduate student pursuing a PhD (or equivalent) degree in the area of applied superconductivity and is intended to encourage students to enter...

LCLS-II Upgrade to Enable Pioneering Research in Many Fields

Cold Facts visited Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory recently to learn more about the lab's involvement in LCLS-II, a project that will provide a major upgrade to the functionality of the existing Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory. LCLS-II involves several scientific institutions, features cutting-edge physics...

PIP-II to Advance Intense Particle Beam Physics

With the power of Proton Improvement Plan-II, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is planning to construct and operate the foremost facility in the world for particle physics utilizing intense beams.

Pump Design and Operation Tips from DH Industries

Pumps and their efficiencies will increase the heat load of a closed loop cryogenic cooling system, so it is important that these pumps be as efficient as possible to minimize cost and supply use. Francesco Dioguardi, Martijn Donkers and Harrie Vermeulen of DH Industries provide pump design and operation tips...

Superconductivity record bolstered by magnetic data

Nature reports that scientists in Germany have observed the common molecule hydrogen sulfide superconducting at a record-breaking 203K (-70°C) when subjected to very high pressures. Researchers A. P. Drozdov, M. I. Eremets, I. A. Troyan, V. Ksenofontov and S. I. Shylin report their findings in their paper "Conventional superconductivity at...

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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...

Magnetic Levitation

From http://www.superconductors.org. Magnetic-levitation is an application where superconductors perform extremely well. Transport vehicles such as trains can be made to “float” on strong superconducting magnets, virtually eliminating friction between the train and its tracks. Not only would conventional electromagnets waste much of the electrical energy as heat, they would have...

Superconductivity

From Superpower website. History of Superconductivity Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by the Dutch physicist, Heike Kammerlingh Onnes when he was able to liquefy helium by cooling it to 4 Kelvin, or -452°F. This enabled him to cool other materials close to absolute zero and investigate their electrical properties. He...

Medical Applications of Cryogenics

Neutron Therapy Cryogenics is at the heart of nuclear accelerators. Accelerators such as Fermilab’s Tevatron make neutron therapy for cancer possible. From Fermilab Today 4/20/09: Fermilab currently offers neutron therapy. But staff at Fermilab designed and built the proton accelerator used by the nation’s first hospital-based treatment center to use...

Nuclear Physics

Al Zeller National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab (NSCL) at Michigan State University zeller@nscl.msu.edu Cryogenics has a long history in nuclear physics. The technology has its origins in the use of cold traps for maintaining a vacuum, which is required to prevent beam loss and for generating high voltages used in acceleration....