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SLAC employees witness space shuttle flyover

The space shuttle Endeavour delighted SLAC employees and other northern California crowds on a final flight, atop a customized 747, to its resting place at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where it will be on display as a museum exhibit.

Airgas to build new ASU in Chicago area

On September 20, Airgas, Inc. announced plans to build a new air separation unit (ASU) in the Chicago area in order to meet increasing demand for merchant gases in the region. The ASU, which will produce oxygen, nitrogen and argon, is expected to begin production in the fall of 2014.

October 7 is target launch date for resupply mission to ISS

NASA and SpaceX have announced October 7, 2012, as the target launch date for SpaceX's first resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is scheduled for 8:34 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Norman Augustine to chair Fermilab director search committee

Norman R. Augustine, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corp., has agreed to chair the search committee for the new Director of Fermilab.

JSC’s historic vacuum chamber ready to test Hubble’s successor

An upgrade eight years in the making is complete, and Johnson Space Center is now home to the only vacuum chamber in the world that is large enough and cold enough to provide a space-like environment for the James Webb Space Telescope.

Fermilab physicists rework plans for LBNE

On August 28, officials from Fermilab presented their revised plan for the first stage of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) to a federal advisory panel.

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

Wind Tunnels

Dr. Robert Kilgore The development of the cryogenic wind tunnel is one of many significant breakthroughs in both cryogenics and wind-tunnel technology made during the past millennium. Interest in the development of high-speed commercial and military aircraft resulted in a review of problems of flow simulation in transonic wind tunnels...

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...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Resistance to embrittlement at low temperatures

Could anyone advise me about resistance to embrittlement at low temperatures for the alloys in subject, i.e. does the CF10M perform like the CF8M in the same cryogenic service (-215F)? Amara Maafi Amara.Maafi@bg-group.com

Need help with temperature dependent model

I am a fourth-year student at New Zealand University. My name is Xu Ke. I have a project to generate a temperature dependent model for inductor, capacitor and diode by using PLECS. PLECS is software which acts as a toolbox for MATLAB. In my models, the temperature is very low,...

In what form is water available in LN2?

Does anybody know in what form water is available in LN2? There probably is a block of ice in the bottom of the tank. But as water comes in many shapes, I can imagine snow or crystals floating free in the LN2. When water is available in LN2, could small...

Separating gases using cryogenics

We are looking for some consulting engineers who understand how to separate gases using cryogenics. We have a new process which takes biomass and converts it to 5 gases and we need to separate these gases into their pure forms. Thanks for your help. Malcolm Draper Energy Research Group LLC...

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