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

The dawn of DUNE

The neutrino experiment formerly known as LBNE has transformed. Since January, its collaboration has gained about 50 new member institutions, elected two new spokespersons and chosen a new name: Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE. The proposed experiment will span 800 miles and will be the most powerful tool in...

LHC restart back on track

On March 30, teams working on the Large Hadron Collider resolved a problem that had been delaying the restart of the accelerator, a short circuit to ground that occurred in one of the connections with an LHC magnet.

First manganese-based superconductor discovered

Scientists have unexpectedly discovered the first manganese-based superconductor, an element whose magnetism was thought to be too strong to permit superconductivity. This research might lead to new superconductors that can better resist magnetic disruption.

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...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Space Cryogenics

Space cryogenics is, somewhat obviously, the application of cryogenics to space exploration and science. The use of cryogenics in space optimizes the launching of vehicles, provides power and life support to spacecraft and is critical for many scientific observations.Space cryogenics has a number of challenges and has driven both pure...

Exergy

The science of thermodynamics plays a major role in cryogenics. It underlies the various refrigeration cycles, from Carnot to Brayton (Cold Facts Vol. 32 No. 2) and Joule-Thomson, is a fundamental part of the definition of terms such as coefficient of performance (Cold Facts Vol. 31 No. 1) and even...

Cryogenic Treatment

Cryogenic treatment is the process of cooling materials to cryogenic temperatures temporarily to improve their material properties at room temperature. This is distinct from cooling materials down to cryogenic temperatures to take advantage of phenomena such as superconductivity that only occur at cryogenic temperatures. Cryogenic treatment, sometimes also referred to...

Latest in Cryo Central

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...

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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