Inclusion of Women in STEM Matters to Society
There is no easy way to explain why more women are not encouraged to follow STEM career paths. Whatever the reasons, and no matter how complex they prove to be, they cannot be justified.
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Report on Global Helium Summit held in London on June 13
A one-day conference on helium supplies was held on June 13 at the Royal Garden Hotel, London. The conference was called the “Global Helium Summit,” and was largely a useful update—via the 11 invited papers—of the ground covered by the March 2009 Cambridge Workshop on the Future of Helium.
“Cryogenics for LHC” by Dr. Philippe Lebrun now available
A presentation by Dr. Philippe Lebrun, CERN, entitled, "Cryogenics for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC): from construction and operation to future upgrades," is now available on the CSA site. The presentation accompanied Dr. Lebrun's plenary talk at the recent Cryogenic Engineering Conference/International Cryogenic Materials Conference (CEC/ICMC) held in Anchorage, Alaska.
New publications available for order on the CSA site
Short course notes from several recent cryogenics events, such as ICC17, ASC’12 and CEC/ICMC 2013, are now available for order from the Cryogenic Society of America.
LHC cryogenics system: The challenge of keeping cool
The LHC is one of the coldest places on Earth, with superconducting magnets—the key defining feature—that operate at 1.9K. While there might be colder places in other laboratories, none compares to the LHC's scale and complexity.
A theoretical device could bring practical spintronics closer to reality
Seiji Yunoki and colleague Shin-ichi Hikino from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Wako, Japan, have now proposed a device that instead of moving electrons is able to transport information using electron spin over long distances.
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Dewar
A dewar is a type of cryostat named after Sir James Dewar, the researcher who first developed the concept of a vacuum insulated container with silvered walls to reflect thermal radiation. Dewar was the first to liquefy hydrogen, and he created the device to store his discovery. The thermos bottle...
Stirling and Gifford-McMahon Cryocoolers
Stirling and Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocoolers are two of the most commonly used cryocoolers in cryogenics. Both devices have a significant industrial base and operate at a wide range of temperatures and capacities. The thermodynamic cycles for both of these cryocoolers are quite similar. The Stirling cycle consists of a compressor,...
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
A significant commercial application of cryogenics is the liquefaction, transport and storage of natural gas. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is generally 95 percent methane with a few percent ethane and much lower concentrations of propane and butane. LNG liquefies at 111.6 K. Unlike many applications of cryogenics, the motivation for...
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...
Reliability and mounting of electronic substrates at low temperatures
I am currently working on the design of a focal plane assembly to be implemented on a small satellite (4 EMCCD detectors) to be operated at -80°C (which is not really cryogenic and likely still considered boiling hot for most of you :-). As it is passively cooled, the assembly...
Are 3D drawings included in the sale of a cryogenic plant?
I have a question concerning the 3D drawings of a cryogenic plant. The integration of the 3D drawings of a plant with the 3D main model of a new laboratory or a new facility can be a complex work that takes a lot of time. I would like to know...
Looking for a source of LOX impact testing to ASTM D2512
I have been looking for a source of LOX impact testing to ASTM D2512. I am aware of NASA and White Sands, but am looking for a commercial entity doing the work. No luck so far, even calling a lot of the folks on the CSA website. Any referrals will...