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New X-ray laser technique could reveal atomic detail of proteins

Use of the Linac Coherent Light Source has led to the development of a unique X-ray laser innovation at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory that may make it easier and faster for scientists to fully map medically important proteins whose structures have remained stubbornly out of reach.

Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream

“Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream,” a 154-page report released by the American Academy of Arts and Science, reinforces many of the findings and recommendations of the 2005 report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm.” The earlier report focused on the causes of America’s...

Boom Awardees Making Headlines

The Cryogenic Society of America is very proud of the recipients of our Roger W. Boom Award. Over the years since 1996, we have watched as our awardees have moved ahead in their fields, living up to the promise the Boom awards committee saw in them. We caught up with...

Frozen Aliens and Superpowers

Liquid nitrogen is cool. That’s a classic pun, but it’s also true. Liquid nitrogen is dramatic and a little bit dangerous, and its startling effects on everyday objects are immediate, making it a fantastic tool for science education and outreach.

LHC experiments join forces to zoom in on the Higgs boson

For the first time, CERN's ATLAS and CMS have presented a combination of their results on the mass of the Higgs boson--on March 17, 2015, during the 50th session of “Rencontres de Moriond” in La Thuile Italy. The combined mass of the Higgs boson corresponds to a measurement precision of...

Neutrons provide first images of refrigerant flow

Using noninvasive techniques, researchers at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have captured undistorted snapshots of refrigerants flowing through small heat exchangers, helping to further elucidate characteristics of heat transfer.

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Cold Compressors

A common way to provide cooling below the normal boiling point of helium (4.2K) is to reduce the pressure above the bath of liquid helium, thus also reducing the bath’s equilibrium saturation temperature. For example, to produce a 1.8K bath of liquid helium, the saturation pressure has to be reduced...

Kapitza Conductance

Kapitza conductance refers to the heat transfer between a solid surface and a fluid that covers that surface. Fundamentally, it describes the inherent difficulty in transferring energy from a solid to the fluid covering the solid surface. This phenomenon was first observed by P. L. Kapitza in 1941 while studying...

Thermosyphons

A thermosyphon (or thermosiphon) is a device that transfers heat via natural convection in a fluid. The natural convection is driven by gravity with the colder, denser fluid flowing downhill and the warmer, less dense fluid flowing back up. Thus, thermosyphons connect an object to be cooled with a reservoir...

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

Designing a liquid oxygen bath

I’m designing a Liquid Oxygen Bath to place composite coupons in the bath and soak 96 samples for intervals of 8 hours, 24 hours, 7 days, 21 days, 42 days, 62 days and 90 days.

School science projects involving cryogenics and metallurgy?

Can you recommend any school science projects that would involve cryogenics and metallurgy?

Metallic Salts Normally Used to Produce Ultra-Low Temperatures?

Regarding the method known as the Adiabatic Demagnetization of Paramagnetic Salts: What metallic salts are normally used to produce the ultra-low temperatures used for near-absolute-zero cryogenic research? Which salts are the most efficient? Which make the best cooling agents? And which are used most commonly by physicists? I am looking...

Specs and info on turbo expanders

I am a fourth year chemical engineering student doing a design project for the liquefaction of natural gas to DME and we are using a turbo expansion unit. I was wondering whether you would send me some specs and any additional information on turbo expanders that I could use as...

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