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Danko van der Laan receives 2014 Boom Award

The Roger W. Boom Award is given bi-annually to a young professional under 40 years of age who shows promise for making significant contributions to the fields of cryogenic engineering and applied superconductivity. This year, the award was presented to Dr. Danko van der Laan during an awards ceremony on...

Tips for Success When Using an ADR Cryostat

Following up on his discussion in the Fall 2013 issue of Cold Facts on when an Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerator (ADR) cryostat is the right tool for the job, Charlie Danaher provides useful technical tips on how to effectively use an ADR.

Young Faces: The Next Generation in Cryogenics, Part I

In the Summer 2006 issue of Cold Facts, we debuted a feature story about outstanding young professionals who are active in the cryogenics industry. This year, we again asked the cryogenics community for the names of up-and-coming "young faces." Here is Part I of the third installment of Young Faces,...

BICEP2 and the Outer Edge of the Universe

The first BICEP (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization), BICEP1, observed with 49 spider-web bolometers for three years. BICEP2 carried 256 dual polarization transition-edge superconducting detectors of greatly increased sensitivity, and also observed for three years. Dr. Peter Mason reports here on the results of these two instruments and their...

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Dilution Refrigerators

Dilution refrigerators are a common technique for reaching temperatures below 1K, particularly where continuous cooling at these temperatures is required. Helium exists in two stable isotopes: 4He and 3He. Naturally occurring 3He is extremely rare, constituting less than 1 part per million of helium gas. However, 3He can be manufactured,...

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards (ODH) are a significant safety issue in cryogenic facilities. ODH occurs when inert gases such as nitrogen, helium or argon displace room air and thus lower the percentage of oxygen in the space below that required for human life. OSHA defines an area as oxygen deficient if...

Kelvin Temperature Scale

The Kelvin temperature scale is the principal temperature scale used in cryogenics and science. The kelvin is also one of the seven base units in the Système International d’Unités (SI) and is the unit of thermodynamic temperature. Thermodynamic temperature is a fundamental physical quantity (like mass, length or electrical current)...

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...

In search of a calculation for designing a cryostat

I am a final year physics student at the University of Birmingham, and as part of a group I am currently designing a cryostat. One of the calculations I need to make (very soon!) is how much heat will be conducted down the walls. All information I have found so...

Safety of ethylene glycol and pressurized oxygen

We are reviewing the product design of liquid filled differential level gauges and want to insure that they meet the industry requirements. The former license owner had authorized that a fill fluid of ethylene glycol (68%) and distilled water (32%) could be used for oxygen service up to 500 psi....