Physicist Marvin L. Cohen receives Carnegie Mellon’s Dickson Prize in Science
Carnegie Mellon University awarded its 2011 Dickson Prize in Science to Marvin L. Cohen, one of the most influential condensed matter physicists in the world.
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Physicists, medical industry team up to build advanced cancer therapy accelerator
A new collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Best Medical International (BMI) aims to design one of the most dynamic and effective cancer therapy devices in the world.
Fermilab’s SRF program incorporates old equipment into new designs
Some people make coffee coasters out of old newspapers or lawn ornaments out of rusty shovels. Fermilab is building a particle accelerator that employs $28 million of recycled equipment and material.
Academics rallying to boycott Elsevier
Over 4,000 scientists have signed an online petition in protest over the pricing and distribution policies of Elsevier, a publisher which sells over 2,000 academic journals along with 20,000 other books. Many of the signatories are distinguished academics at such institutions as Harvard, Yale, McGill, Cambridge and Oxford. They promise...
MSU Board approves next step of FRIB project
The Michigan State University Board of Trustees has given its approval to the next step in the development of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, a world-class nuclear research facility that will attract scientists from all over the world to East Lansing while creating more than $1 billion in economic...
Scientist recounts superconductivity discovery
Like many young men from Alabama, Jim Ashburn's path to fame involved football, good timing, a fair dose of serendipity (or good luck, if you prefer), timely coaching and a strong team. Ashburn's path also included a love of science, especially mathematics.
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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...
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?