Promising New Sources of Helium
Dr. John Barclay and Raymond Hobbs report on the US's helium supply and use.
ADVERTISEMENT
CSA board certifies newly elected directors
At the August 14 CSA Board meeting held during the Applied Superconductivity Conference in Charlotte NC, the four directors recently elected by the society’s membership were certified.
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,...
Cold Facts Columnists Bring Their Unique Perspectives on Cryogenics
Over the years, Cold Facts has been privileged to have published informed, thoughtful and innovative columns by a series of leaders in the cryogenics industry. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights of the past and a review of our present contributors.
ADVERTISEMENT
Joule-Thomson Effect
The Joule-Thomson (JT) effect is a thermodynamic process that occurs when a fluid expands from high pressure to low pressure at constant enthalpy (an isenthalpic process). Such a process can be approximated in the real world by expanding a fluid from high pressure to low pressure across a valve. Under...
Current Leads
One of the challenges of using superconducting magnets is the connection of the magnet to a room temperature power supply. This is accomplished via current leads. The trick is that current leads should ideally have a low heat leak, since they connect room temperature to cryogenic temperature, while at the...
Multilayer Insulation
Multilayer insulation (also referred to as superinsulation) is a key component in the reduction of heat leak to cryogenic systems due to thermal radiation. MLI consists of a series of uncooled reflective surfaces placed in the vacuum space between two surfaces, one warmer than the other. Generally speaking, for ideal...
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...
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?