Cold Facts Digital – The go-to place for Cryogenics and Superconductivity

BioCision and Brooks Automation launch cryogenic biospecimen handling and transport system

BioCision and Brooks Automation recently launched the CryoPod Carrier, a jointly developed liquid nitrogen-based system for the safe, reliable and protected handling and transport of cryogenic biospecimens. The portable data-logging carrier was unveiled on May 6 at the annual meeting of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories in...

US-CERN agreement paves way for a new era of scientific discovery

A new agreement between the United States and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) signed on May 7 will pave the way for renewed collaboration in particle physics, promising to yield new insights into fundamental particles and the nature of matter and our universe.

Natural SUSY’s last stand

In a paper entitled “Lessons and prospects from the pMSSM after LHC Run I” published in Physical Review D, researchers M. Cahill-Rowley, J. L. Hewett, A. Ismail and T. G. Rizzo report that, while the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)’s first run did not provide evidence of natural Supersymmetry (SUSY), SUSY...

LHC sees first low energy collisions

On May 5, low energy protons met in the hearts of the four Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments at CERN. These test collisions will help the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb collaborations calibrate their detectors in preparation for the high energy collisions scheduled for early June.

Featuring Women in Cryogenics and Superconductivity

Several years ago, Cold Facts had a cover story on women in cryogenics and superconductivity. We thought it was time to introduce our readers to several more women who are excelling in our fields and find out more about their experiences in areas where they are still pretty much in...

Research and Development of Large-Scale Cryogenic Air Separation in China

Experts from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou Hangyang Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Jiao Tong University detail the history of the research and development of large-scale cryogenic air separation in China from 1953, in which the production capacity of an ASU was only 20 m3/h O2, to the present. Over 60 years of...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Refrigerators and Liquefiers

Two of the most common terms used in cryogenics are “refrigerator” and “liquefier.” These terms describe similar and, as will be seen, in some cases identical components. A refrigerator provides cooling (that is, absorbs heat) at cryogenic temperatures. Refrigerators typically put a working fluid (such as helium) through one of...

Air Separation

Air separation is one of the largest, as well as earliest, industrial applications of cryogenics. In this process, cryogenic temperatures are used to separate air into its constituent gases: nitrogen (78.08%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%) and carbon dioxide (0.3%). Trace gases such as krypton, neon, xenon and helium total far...

Coefficient of Performance and Figure of Merit

The coefficient of performance (COP) is used to describe the effectiveness of refrigerators, including those operating at cryogenic temperatures. The COP is defined as the amount of heat removed at the cryogenic operating temperature of the refrigerator divided by the amount of work that must be applied to remove the...

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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