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Cryogenics at the European Spallation Source

The European Spallation Source (ESS) is an intergovernmental project building a multidisciplinary research laboratory based upon the world’s most powerful neutron source. The facility will be built in Lund, Sweden. The ESS will use a linear accelerator (linac), which will deliver protons with 5 MW of power to the target...

Cryogenics Conference Moves to Dresden

Held in Dresden, Germany, for the first time, September 11-14, the international Cryogenics conference attracted 150 participants from 23 nations with 54 lectures and 28 posters presented. The exhibition comprised 18 companies. Students from the European Course of Cryogenics, sponsored by TU Dresden, which was held in the city at...

UH wind turbine superconductivity research project wins additional funding

A University of Houston engineering researcher and his team have received additional funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for a wind energy project that involves using superconducting wire to generate and transport electricity.

Fermilab scientists selected as APS fellows

Five Fermilab scientists have been named fellows of the American Physical Society, a distinction awarded each year to no more than one-half of 1 percent of current APS members by their peers.

Nexans and AMSC introduce fault current limiter for North American utilities

AMSC, a global solutions provider serving wind and grid leaders, and Nexans, an expert in the cable industry (both CSA Corporate Sustaining Members), recently introduced to the North American market a medium voltage superconductor fault current limiter (SFCL) solution that is designed to meet many of the challenges caused by...

“Crowning” the ITER cryostat from below solves columnar design problem

Columns are as old as civilization: for thousands of years, they have provided architects and engineers with a simple and sturdy solution to support heavy loads while leaving room to move around on the ground below. This traditional and reliable solution was to be implemented in ITER.

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Dilution Refrigerators

Dilution refrigerators are a common technique for reaching temperatures below 1K, particularly where continuous cooling at these temperatures is required. Helium exists in two stable isotopes: 4He and 3He. Naturally occurring 3He is extremely rare, constituting less than 1 part per million of helium gas. However, 3He can be manufactured,...

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards

Oxygen Deficiency Hazards (ODH) are a significant safety issue in cryogenic facilities. ODH occurs when inert gases such as nitrogen, helium or argon displace room air and thus lower the percentage of oxygen in the space below that required for human life. OSHA defines an area as oxygen deficient if...

Kelvin Temperature Scale

The Kelvin temperature scale is the principal temperature scale used in cryogenics and science. The kelvin is also one of the seven base units in the Système International d’Unités (SI) and is the unit of thermodynamic temperature. Thermodynamic temperature is a fundamental physical quantity (like mass, length or electrical current)...

Latest in Cryo Central

Air Separation and Liquefaction

by Nils Tellier, PE, President, EPSIM Corporation (CSA CSM) nils@epsim.us All illustrations courtesy EPSIM Corporation Background History of Air Separation and Liquefaction This section builds on a rich history of methods to develop deep refrigeration and cryogenic liquefaction during the 19th Century. You are encouraged to read Cryo Central’s History...

Bose-Einstein Condensate

A Bose-Einstein condensate, first proposed in 1925 by Albert Einstein based on work done by Satyendra Nath Bose (the same Bose from whom the term boson is derived), is a super-cold state of matter in which almost all of the individual atoms have “condensed” down to the lowest possible quantum...

Cold Technology for Pest Control

While it does not reach temperatures cold enough to be called cryogenic, carbon dioxide snow is at the heart of a new way of dealing with unwanted pests. It utilizes a quick freezing process that takes advantage of the properties of carbon dioxide snow and has a number of benefits...

Cryogenic Finishing

The following 3 articles discuss the uses and procedures of various type of cryogenic finishing. 1) By Robin A. Rhodes, Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Cryogenic Deflashing is employed to remove undesired residual mold flash that remains on molded parts after they are removed or ejected from the...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Specs and info on turbo expanders

I am a fourth year chemical engineering student doing a design project for the liquefaction of natural gas to DME and we are using a turbo expansion unit. I was wondering whether you would send me some specs and any additional information on turbo expanders that I could use as...

Colleges that offer cryogenic studies

Would you happen to know of any colleges in the US that offer cryogenics as a major? If not, should I major in something like biology or physics before, then branch off to the field of cryogenics? Any information that you could give me would be greatly appreciated, considering this...

Sudden loss of vacuum in LHe storage dewar

I’m trying to find data on what happens when a 100 Liter LHe storage dewar experiences a catastrophic failure such as a sudden loss of vacuum. If anyone has any info on this subject, it would be very helpful.

Data on hardness of Indium?

Where can I find experimental data on the hardness of Indium, as a function of temperature, as well as any existing data on the thermal contact conductance of junctions containing Indium foil, also as a function of temperature?

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