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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.

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.

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Regenerators

Regenerators or regenerative heat exchangers are a key component of cryocoolers such as pulse tube cryocoolers (Cold Facts, August 2014). Regenerator performance greatly affects the coefficient of performance of cryocoolers. Improvements in regenerator design and, in particular, regenerator materials have been an important factor in the improvement of the performance...

Pulse Tube Cryocoolers

The development of pulse tube cryocoolers has been a significant topic of research and development over the past 20 or so years. Pulse tube cryocoolers have a number of advantages over other types of cryocoolers and are now available commercially. In order to understand pulse tube cryocoolers, it’s best to...

Thermal Expansion

Thermal expansion refers to the change in size (length or volume) that a material undergoes as its temperature changes. In cryogenic systems this effect can be quite large and must be allowed for in the design. In isotropic materials, which include most engineering materials, the thermal expansion is the same...

Latest in Cryo Central

History of Cryogenics

From the Fall 1999 issue of Cold Facts magazine Millennium Breakthroughs A variety of CSA members give different perspectives on the past millennium: What were the most significant breakthroughs in cryogenics during the past millennium? Prof. R.G. Scurlock, Kryos Technology, scurlock@soton.ac.uk (“Breakthrough” = way through obstacles — Oxford English Dictionary)...

Cryobiology

Andreas Sputtek Past President Society for Cryobiology sputtek@uke.uni-hamburg.de or http://www.sputtek.de/. The word cryobiology (from the Greek words “cryo” = cold, “bios” = life, and “logos” = science) literally signifies the science of life at low temperatures. In practice, this field comprises the study of any biological material or system (e.g.,...

Cryogenic Insulation

James E. Fesmire Cryogenics Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center james.e.fesmire@nasa.gov Introduction In today’s world, the use of cryogenics and low-temperature refrigeration is taking a more and more significant role. From the food industry, transportation, energy, and medical applications to the Space Shuttle, cryogenic liquids must be stored, handled, and...

Cryogenic Treatment of Materials

F.J. Diekman Controlled Thermal Processing, Inc. info@metal-wear.com Cryogenic Processing (also called cryogenic treatment, and incorrectly “cryogenic tempering”) is a process that uses cryogenic temperatures to modify materials to enhance their performance. Cryogenic Processing involves the slow reduction in temperature of the material to at least -300°F (-185°C) and holding the...

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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