Leaders of faster-than-light experiment step down
Two leaders of the OPERA collaboration, which stunned the world in September when it announced data suggesting that neutrinos could travel faster than the speed of light, have stepped down.
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A final answer on how high-temperature superconductors don’t work?
For decades, physicists have debated the origins of high-temperature superconductivity—the ability of some materials to carry electricity without resistance at temperatures up to 138 kelvin. Now, new data nix one possible explanation, albeit a less popular one, a team claims. If the finding holds up, it would sever any connection...
Leon M. Lederman receives 2012 Vannevar Bush Award
The National Science Board (NSB) announced on March 26 that Nobel laureate, Leon Lederman, is the 2012 recipient of its Vannevar Bush Award.
Copper-based materials show strange spin states
Just as water, ice, and steam are all phases of the same material that are influenced by temperature and pressure, new research shows how transitions of state work in very simple lattices primarily composed of copper.
Neutrons uncover new density waves in fermion liquids
Scientists working at the Institut Laue-Langevin, the world’s flagship center for neutron science, have carried out the first investigation of two-dimensional fermion liquids using neutron scattering, and discovered a new type of very short wave-length density wave.
Air Liquide and Astrium create EuroCryospace
Air Liquide and Astrium have announced the creation of EuroCryospace, the new European expansion of Cryospace, created nearly 25 years ago by both companies, for the development and production of Ariane cryogenic tanks.
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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...
Magnets
From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. Particle physics uses accelerators to recreate the conditions of the early universe in an attempt to piece together the complex puzzle of how we got to where we are today. These huge machines are used...
Energy Storage
From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. With power lines increasingly congested and prone to instability, strategic injection of brief bursts of real power can play a crucial role in maintaining grid reliability. Small-scale Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) systems, based on...
Astronomy
ASTRONOMY IN SPACE by Peter V. Mason, retired, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology. Pmason@alumni.caltech.edu In thinking about the reasons to perform astronomy in space, we first consider the effect of the earth’s atmosphere. On a scale of decreasing energy, gamma rays, cosmic rays, X-rays and...
Cryocoolers
What is a Cryocooler? A mechanism that can extract heat from an object (cooler) and by doing so draw its temperature down below approximately 150 Kelvin (cryo). — (Courtesy Dr. Willy Gully) What is the difference between a Cryocooler and a Cryostat? A cryostat is any device designed to maintain...
Effect of cryogenic freezing on tone of bell?
I have been making bells for a few years out of Bell Bronze, 87% Copper. Would cryogenic freezing have any effect on the tone of a bell if I had it treated after casting? Your help would be appreciated.
Thermal conductivity of niobium, tantalum, lead, tin
I am interested in the thermal conductivity and other properties of low temperature superconductors. Specifically I am interested in materials like Niobium, Tantalum, Lead and Tin. Would you know of a publication that dealt with thermal properties in general and also gave specific data on these materials?
Could boxes of paper records be freeze-dried?
In the event of a disaster such as a flood, could boxes of paper records be freeze-dried? Could cryogenics help in the recovery efforts?