Cold Facts Digital – The go-to place for Cryogenics and Superconductivity

Lake Shore Cryotronics CEO appointed to PECSEA

Michael Swartz, CEO of Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc., was appointed to the President's Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA) by US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke earlier this month.

Roby named president of Praxair Asia

Anne Roby has been named president of Praxair Asia, where she will be responsible for industrial gases business in China, India, South Korea and Thailand.

Ability Engineering receives National Board “R” Certificate of Authorization

Ability Engineering Technology, Inc. has received the National Board "R" Certificate of Authorization.

Fire breaks out in Soudan mine

Fermilab Today reported on March 21 that a mine shaft fire that began in the Soudan Underground Mine last Thursday now appears to be out, though officials are unsure whether detectors for the MINOS experiment and the Cryogenic Dark Matter Experiment were damaged.

Airgas introduces new IQF freezer in Boston

Airgas announced a new addition to its FreezeRight line of cryogenic freezers at the International Boston Seafood Show on March 21.

Ad Astra and NASA JSC sign support agreement

Ad Astra Rocket Company and NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) signed a Support Agreement on March 2 to collaborate on tasks related to space-based cryogenic magnet operations and electric propulsion systems for Ad Astra's VASIMR(R) technology.

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Joule-Thomson Effect

The Joule-Thomson (JT) effect is a thermodynamic process that occurs when a fluid expands from high pressure to low pressure at constant enthalpy (an isenthalpic process). Such a process can be approximated in the real world by expanding a fluid from high pressure to low pressure across a valve. Under...

Current Leads

One of the challenges of using superconducting magnets is the connection of the magnet to a room temperature power supply. This is accomplished via current leads. The trick is that current leads should ideally have a low heat leak, since they connect room temperature to cryogenic temperature, while at the...

Multilayer Insulation

Multilayer insulation (also referred to as superinsulation) is a key component in the reduction of heat leak to cryogenic systems due to thermal radiation. MLI consists of a series of uncooled reflective surfaces placed in the vacuum space between two surfaces, one warmer than the other. Generally speaking, for ideal...

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