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A Half Century of Cryogenics and CSA

"1964 seems just like yesterday to me, yet it was 50 years ago. The Cryogenic Society of America was born that year, and I was just beginning my professional career in cryogenics." Dr. Ray Radebaugh reviews some of the industry's and CSA's major advances from 1964 to the present.

CSA Awards and Recognitions over the Years

CSA's first award was named for Robert W. Vance, who was one of the guiding lights who was present at the founding and kept the society going through some rough times.

Cryocoolers to Monitor Global Surface Temperatures from Space

The Cryocooler Development and Engineering Group at Airbus Defence and Space, formerly known as Astrium, has delivered the first of two space cryocooler systems, scheduled to launch in mid-2015 on the European Space Agency’s twin Sentinel 3 satellites.

The Rebirth of CSA

In 1984, 20 years after its founding, the Cryogenic Society of America was re-incorporated in the state of Illinois under new leadership. President Romuald (Ray) Szara explained the changes in a letter to the membership quoted in Vol. 1, No. 1 of the new CSA magazine, Cold Facts.

The Birth of CSA

The Cryogenic Society of America was founded in 1964. David Carse, the first national President of CSA, traced the “history” of the newly formed body in his article “Cryo Comment,” published in Volume 1, No. 1 of the society’s journal, Cryogenic Technology.

Report on World Congress of the ISC

The 17th World Congress of the International Society of Cryosurgery was held in Bali, Indonesia, last December. At the opening ceremony, Prof. Dr. Akmal Taher, Sp.U(K), Director General of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, welcomed the delegates. A total of 109 delegates from four continents attended...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigeration

Reaching temperatures below 1K requires different techniques than the various helium gas cycles found in large scale refrigeration plants and small cryocoolers. One of these techniques is Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigeration (ADR). This technique takes advantage of the fact that the entropy of paramagnetic materials in a magnetic field is lower than...

Cryogen-Free

A cryogen is any fluid that operates at cryogenic temperatures (below roughly 150K – 120K). Using this definition, helium gas at 40K is a cryogen. Another more restrictive definition is to use cryogen to refer specifically to liquids at cryogenic temperatures. This is generally how it is used in the...

Cryostats and Cryocoolers

A cryostat is any device designed to maintain things (including fluids) at cryogenic temperatures. In general usage, cryostats tend to be passive devices rather than providing active cooling. In this usage, cryostats keep things cold by thermally isolating them from room temperature. This generally is accomplished by a combination of...

Latest in Cryo Central

Cryogenic Electronics

Randall Kirschman, consulting physicist, Mountain View, California ExtElect@gmail.com Cryogenic electronics—the operation of electronic devices, circuits, and systems at cryogenic temperatures—has been a valuable technology for decades. Cryogenic electronics (also referred to as low-temperature electronics, or cold electronics) can be based on semiconductive devices, on superconductive devices, or on a combination...

Particle Physics: High Energy Physics

Cryogenics and High-Energy Physics 1. From symmetry magazine: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000627: Cryogenics is the study of how materials behave at temperatures near absolute zero. In high-energy particle accelerators, such frigid temperatures reduce the electrical resistance of wires in superconducting magnets, increasing the magnet strength and allowing faster particle acceleration. The same holds...

HTS Degaussing Systems

From the Spring 2009 issue of Cold Facts (Volume 25, Number 2): Thanks to a joint project by the US Navy and a number of industry partners, high temperature superconducting (HTS) technology is now at the heart of an advanced degaussing system aboard the USS Higgins at the naval station...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

From http://www.superconductors.org: An area where superconductors can perform a life-saving function is in the field of biomagnetism. Doctors need a non-invasive means of determining what’s going on inside the human body. By impinging a strong superconductor-derived magnetic field into the body, hydrogen atoms that exist in the body’s water and...

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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