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

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...

CERN Launches Study of Future Circular Colliders Beyond the LHC

Dr. Philippe Lebrun and Dr. Laurent Tavian of CERN report on an upcoming study of Future Circular Colliders kicked off in February at the University of Geneva.

The Emerging Science of Deep Cryogenic Treatment

Rozalia Papp, Air Liquide, discusses the history, development, available research, uses and possible applications of Deep Cryogenic Treatment and looks at future prospects from its use.

CSA Members Share Memories of Challenges, Influences in Cryogenics and Superconductivity

CSA recently solicited input from our members and readers about their experiences working in cryogenics and superconductivity. Here are their answers to our survey questions.

He II: From the Lab to an Engineering Fluid

Dr. John Weisend II traces the evolution of He II as a cryogenic coolant, discussing both its applications and the research and development activities required to apply He II to large-scale systems.

History of the CSA Website

In 1991, the World Wide Web came into being at CERN, with other scientific laboratories around the world following close behind. In early 1995, Joel Fuerst undertook the development of a website for CSA.

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Refrigerators and Liquefiers

Two of the most common terms used in cryogenics are “refrigerator” and “liquefier.” These terms describe similar and, as will be seen, in some cases identical components. A refrigerator provides cooling (that is, absorbs heat) at cryogenic temperatures. Refrigerators typically put a working fluid (such as helium) through one of...

Air Separation

Air separation is one of the largest, as well as earliest, industrial applications of cryogenics. In this process, cryogenic temperatures are used to separate air into its constituent gases: nitrogen (78.08%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%) and carbon dioxide (0.3%). Trace gases such as krypton, neon, xenon and helium total far...

Coefficient of Performance and Figure of Merit

The coefficient of performance (COP) is used to describe the effectiveness of refrigerators, including those operating at cryogenic temperatures. The COP is defined as the amount of heat removed at the cryogenic operating temperature of the refrigerator divided by the amount of work that must be applied to remove the...

Latest in Cryo Central

Cryogenics in Space

Peter Kittel University of California-Berkeley pkittel@cal.berkeley.edu Space Cryogenics is the application of cryogenics to space missions. These applications fall into two broad areas, supporting space science missions and supporting the space transportation infrastructure. Science applications: The atmosphere is opaque to much of the electro-magnetic spectrum. In space, the absence of...

Cryosurgery

Review of Cryosurgery Boris Rubinsky, PhD Hebrew University School of Science and Engineering Research Center for Biomedical Engineering 78b Ross Building Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904 Israel rubinsky@cs.huji.ac.il as published in Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, August 2000, Vol. 2, pp. 157-187. Abstract: Cryosurgery is a surgical technique that employs freezing...

Liquefied Natural Gas

Liquefied Natural Gas as it relates to the Field of Cryogenics John W. Bonn VJ Systems, LLC johnbonn@vjsystems-lic.com Today the world is looking for a cleaner fuel and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plays a large part in achieving this goal. LNG in a liquid form is at -162°C (-259°F) and...

Food Processing

Cryogenics and Food The industrial gas industry provides a host of products and services related to food. The various gases have useful and sometimes fascinating applications in food industry. “The food industry is not a homogenous industry. The needs of customers processing hamburger vs. poultry vs. strawberries vs. seafood, for...

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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