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Air Force surveillance balloons use helium to stay afloat

Airmen from the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Management Flight are assisting in the safety and security of thousands of US, Afghan and coalition troops at various forward operating bases and combat outpost throughout Afghanistan.

Physicists at CERN trap antihydrogen atoms for 1000 seconds

Trapping antihydrogen atoms at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has become so routine that physicists are confident that they can soon begin experiments on this rare antimatter equivalent of the hydrogen atom, according to researchers at the Univ. of California, Berkeley.

AMS successfully installed on International Space Station

On May 19 Endeavour's astronauts accomplished the No. 1 objective of their mission, successfully installing the $2 billion cosmic ray detector, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), on the International Space Station to scan the invisible universe for years to come.

Energy Secretary Chu “disappointed” with NSF for pulling out of DUSEL

Energy Secretary Steven Chu says that he’s “very disappointed” with the National Science Foundation (NSF) for pulling out of a planned $875-million underground science lab in South Dakota.

Gravity Probe B demonstrates Einstein theory

A high-powered team of physicists and engineers has concluded that NASA’s $700 million Gravity Probe B (GP-B) experiment demonstrated two key aspects of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, but not to the hoped-for degree of confidence.

Particle accelerators applications include baby diapers

In symmetry, Elizabeth Clements reports on one of the myriad, yet surprising, applications for particle accelerators: baby diapers!

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

Thermal shock on steel cylinder when dropped into liquid nitrogen

We are a research team at the University of South Florida, studying the “thermal shock” on a steel cylinder when it is dropped into liquid nitrogen. We want to make sure that the thermocouple does not get influenced by the surrounding LN2. Any advice?

Getter materials to absorb out gassed materials?

Here’s one for the scientists: We would like to sell vacuum insulated pipe for high temperature fluid applications. Are there any good getter materials that we can place in the vacuum space of our VJP to absorb outgassed materials at elevated temperatures?

Data on Carbon Fibres Reinforced Plastic at temperatures between 4 and 300K.

I am looking for data on Carbon Fibres Reinforced Plastic at temperatures between 4 and 300K. I would appreciate it if someone could give me some hints on where to find it.

Design of cryostats and suspension mechanisms for insulation and cryostat shielding

I’m looking for information about the design of cryostats and suspension mechanisms for insulation and cryostat shielding.

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