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Bestobell wins contract with LNG fuel system manufacturer

Bestobell Valves, part of the Sheffield-based President Engineering Group (PEGL), has become a preferred supplier to Wärtsilä Gas Power Systems (GPS), the Finland-headquartered global leader in gas power solutions for the marine and energy markets.

The James Webb Space Telescope—A Year of Significant Progress

The James Webb Space Telescope is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the development effort. The main industrial partner is Northrop Grumman; the Space Telescope Science Institute will operate Webb after launch.

Mechanical engineering professor Joseph LeConte Smith Jr. dies at 83

Joseph LeConte Smith Jr., the Samuel C. Collins Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering, died on May 7 at the age of 83.

Frederick J. Edeskuty, expert on cryo safety, dies at 89

Frederick J. Edeskuty, 89, long-time CSA member, Cold Facts columnist and expert on cryogenic safety, passed away on Friday, May 10. After receiving his doctoral degree in chemical engineering and physics at the University of Minnesota, he moved his family to New Mexico where he began a 40-year scientific career...

DOE Approves Freeport LNG Non-FTA Export Application

The US Department of Energy has conditionally authorized Freeport LNG Expansion, and FLNG Liquefaction, LLC (Freeport) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States from the Freeport LNG Terminal on Quintana Island, Texas.

Revolutionary muon experiment to start with 3,200-mile move of cryostat from Brookhaven to Fermilab

Scientists from 26 institutions around the world are planning a new experiment that could open the doors to new realms of particle physics. But first, they have to bring the core of this experiment, a complex electromagnet that spans 50 feet in diameter, from the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

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...

Latest in Cryo Central

Magnetic Levitation

From http://www.superconductors.org. Magnetic-levitation is an application where superconductors perform extremely well. Transport vehicles such as trains can be made to “float” on strong superconducting magnets, virtually eliminating friction between the train and its tracks. Not only would conventional electromagnets waste much of the electrical energy as heat, they would have...

Superconductivity

From Superpower website. History of Superconductivity Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by the Dutch physicist, Heike Kammerlingh Onnes when he was able to liquefy helium by cooling it to 4 Kelvin, or -452°F. This enabled him to cool other materials close to absolute zero and investigate their electrical properties. He...

Medical Applications of Cryogenics

Neutron Therapy Cryogenics is at the heart of nuclear accelerators. Accelerators such as Fermilab’s Tevatron make neutron therapy for cancer possible. From Fermilab Today 4/20/09: Fermilab currently offers neutron therapy. But staff at Fermilab designed and built the proton accelerator used by the nation’s first hospital-based treatment center to use...

Nuclear Physics

Al Zeller National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab (NSCL) at Michigan State University zeller@nscl.msu.edu Cryogenics has a long history in nuclear physics. The technology has its origins in the use of cold traps for maintaining a vacuum, which is required to prevent beam loss and for generating high voltages used in acceleration....

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