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MIT researchers find new mathematical relationship in superconductors

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have discovered a new mathematical relationship between material thickness, temperature and electrical resistance that appears to hold in all superconductors. The result could shed light on the nature of superconductivity and could also lead to better-engineered superconducting circuits for applications like quantum computing and...

Vector electromagnet at BESSY II creates 3D magnetic fields in samples

Together with Helmholz Centrum Berlin (HZB), teams from the Universität Regensburg, the Freie Universität Berlin and the Ruhr Universität Bochum have jointly set up a unique measurement station at BESSY II: a vector electromagnet consisting of three mutually perpendicular Helmholtz coils that enables setting the local magnetic field at the...

Balancing the Cryopreservation Equation

BioCision executives Dr. Maria Thompson, Dr. Eric Kunkel and Dr. Rolf Ehrhardt discuss the thawing arm of the "cryopreservation equation" and the need to strictly control temperature throughout the process.

SuperPower expands Quick Ship inventory

New segments have been added to SuperPower's Quick Ship inventory. The program enables the company to ship wire to clients in as little as 1-2 business days upon acceptance of a purchase order or pre-payment.

Neutrinos can deliver both full-on hits and “glancing blows”

In what they call a “weird little corner” of the already weird world of neutrinos, physicists have found evidence that neutrinos might be involved in a surprising reaction: interacting with a nucleus and leaving it basically untouched, inflicting no more than a glancing blow.

Accelerator-powered carbon dating

Accelerator mass spectrometry, an accelerator-driven form of carbon dating that requires only a tiny sample of the material, is advancing everything from archaeology to personalized medicine.

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Mixed Refrigerant Cycles

Most cryogenic refrigeration systems, both large scale systems and cryocoolers, use helium as a working fluid. There are a number of advantages to helium, not the least of which is that helium remains a fluid down to the lowest achievable temperatures. In order to freeze helium, pressures of over 20...

Fountain Pumps and He II Phase Separators

Helium II (He II), the second liquid phase of the 4He isotope described in this column in Cold Facts Spring 2010 (http://2csa.us/he2), can be modeled as consisting of two interpenetrating fluids. One, the superfluid component, has zero viscosity and entropy and the other, the normal fluid component, has nonzero viscosity...

Turboexpanders

A vital technology in the refrigerators and liquefiers described in Cold Facts Volume 31 Number 3 is that of turboexpanders. These devices are rotating machines in which the process fluid (e.g., helium) does work against the turboexpander while moving from high pressure to a lower pressure and thus is cooled....

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...

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...