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Maglev elevators go up, down and sideways

Elevators are about to get a major upgrade: the ability to go sideways, thanks to magnetic levitation technology. German industrial behemoth ThyssenKrupp is promising that two-axis travel ("the holy grail of the elevator industry") will revolutionize intra-building travel, and that they will have it operational in 2016.

Evidence mounts for quantum criticality theory

A new study by a team of physicists adds to the growing body of evidence supporting a theory that strange electronic behaviors, including high temperature superconductivity and heavy fermion physics, arise from quantum fluctuations of strongly correlated electrons. The study describes results from a series of experiments that tested for...

Charge instability detected across all types of copper-based superconductors

A recent study by physicists from the University of British Columbia and the University of Maryland detected for the first time in electron-doped cuprate superconductors evidence of charge ordering, a phenomenon that appears to compete with superconductivity and reduce the temperature at which cuprates demonstrate superconducting properties. The study's findings...

A 50-Year History of the Extended Bonnet Cryogenic Valve

Many cryogenic products have been developed out of necessity over the past 50 years. One such product is the vacuum jacketed extended bonnet cryogenic valve. Currently there are numerous manufacturers in the US and abroad that have utilized design basics developed over 50 years ago. One of the main contributors...

LHC filled with liquid helium for spring restart

In December 2014 the cryogenics team at CERN finished filling the eight curved sections of the LHC with liquid helium. The LHC ring is now cooled to below 4K (-452˚F). This cool-down is an important milestone in preparing the LHC for its spring 2015 restart, after which physicists plan to...

TRIUMF announces photo contest winners

The results are in from a photo contest organized last fall by TRIUMF (CSA CSM), Canada’s national particle and nuclear physics laboratory, when the lab invited Vancouver-based photographers to tour the facility and submit their images to be judged by the public, TRIUMF scientists and a jury of local experts.

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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...

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...