A temperature below absolute zero
Physicists at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching report that they have created an atomic gas in the laboratory that has negative Kelvin values.
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Superconductors for efficient wind power plants
An efficient, robust, and compact wind power plant with a 10 MW superconducting generator is being developed by partners from industry and science within the recently established EU project SUPRAPOWER (SUPerconducting, Reliable, lightweight, And more POWERful offshore wind turbine).
A eulogy to Herschel
In January's Physics World, Steve Eales, a University of Cardiff astronomer who leads one of the telescope's largest surveys, explains how this space facility has advanced our understanding of star and galaxy formation.
Heat flows ‘backwards’ across Josephson junction
Tim Wogan in physicsworld.com reports that the thermal Josephson effect, which occurs when heat is transported across a gap between two superconductors, has been measured in the lab for the first time.
Research is on ice due to helium shortage
The worldwide shortage of helium is having a serious effect on research facilities. Mark Stokes, senior research fellow in psychiatry and experimental psychology at Oxford University, shared his concerns in an editorial in the UK's The Independent.
Interviews with Cryogenic Treatment Professionals
In the interest of continuing coverage and ongoing dialogue about cryogenic treatment, Cold Facts took the opportunity to talk to several cryogenic treatment professionals about their companies’ successes, challenges and the state of the industry as a whole.
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Transfer Lines
Transfer lines may in some real sense be thought of as the cryogenic fluid analogy of current leads. While current leads carry electrical power to where it’s required in a cryogenic system, transfer lines do the same with cryogenic fluids. Transfer lines range in complexity from very simple U-tubes containing...
Zero Boiloff
Zero Boil Off cryostats are those that contain liquid cryogens but are designed to eliminate or vastly reduce the boil off of the liquid. These cryostats combine some of the advantages of Cryogen-Free systems (e.g. ease of use and long operational lifetime) with the advantages associated with a reservoir of liquid...
Cryomodule
Cryomodule is a term that is most commonly used to refer to cryostats that contain superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. Such cavities are used to accelerate charged particle beams and are a major component of modern particle accelerators. Using the term cryomodule to refer to cryostats containing SRF cavities appears...
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...
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?