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Tests Show High Temperature Superconducting Magnets Ready for Fusion

In the early hours of September 5, 2021, engineers at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) achieved a groundbreaking milestone by demonstrating a world-record magnetic field strength of 20 tesla with a new high-temperature superconducting magnet. This breakthrough is crucial for advancing fusion power technology, with the potential to...

How Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Combustion Could Revolutionize Racing

Hydrogen power is gradually making its mark on the motorsport scene. This year, we have already witnessed hydrogen race cars competing in the Fuji 24 Hours, hillclimbs, and the Dakar Rally. Looking ahead to 2025, the world’s first hydrogen championship, Extreme H, will debut, and by 2027, hydrogen prototypes are...

En Route Toward the First German Quantum Computer

Fraunhofer IPMS is collaborating on the development of an integrated German quantum computer based on superconducting quantum chips. Together with 24 German research institutions and companies, under the coordination of Forschungszentrum (FZ) Jülich, Fraunhofer IPMS is working on this quantum computer with the goal of improving error rates. At the halfway...

Indian Student to Research Liquid Hydrogen with Monash University

A Ph.D. student from India is conducting groundbreaking research with Monash University’s Department of Civil Engineering after being selected as the recipient of the prestigious Australian government-funded Maitri Scholars Program. Chennai native Rohith Prakash will focus on advancing the safe transport and storage of liquid hydrogen, with a particular emphasis on...

Lightweight Supramolecular Material for Compressed Hydrogen Storage

A team of chemists from the University of Hong Kong, Northwestern University, and Duke University has developed a supramolecular material capable of compressing hydrogen for storage without being too heavy. Their study, published in Nature Chemistry, demonstrates the use of porous organic crystals for hydrogen storage. Hydrogen has long been...

Rising Helium Demand Set to Double by 2035

A new report from IDTechEx suggests that global helium demand is set to double by 2035, driven by the wide-ranging applications of this vital element. Helium, a finite yet critical resource, is indispensable across multiple industries. From medical imaging to semiconductor manufacturing, helium’s unique properties—such as high thermal conductivity, chemical...

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

Primary Standards

Elie K. Track Hypres, Inc. elie@hypres.com http://www.hypres.com/ Primary standards involve the exact definition and realization of units of measurement for various quantities, time, length, mass, voltage, resistance, current, etc. International agreements based on the latest scientific knowledge define those units, and their realizations vary depending on the unit itself. For...

Shrink Fitting

Robin A. Rhodes Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Shrink fitting, (or “compression fitting” as it is sometimes called), is a method used to insert a pin or bushing into a housing or other assembly requiring an extremely tight tolerance fit. It can be used as an alternative to...

Telecommunications

From the Winter 2004 issue of Cold Facts magazine The recent M-Calc IV — 4th Industry Assessment workshop discussing military and commercial applications for low-cost cryocoolers, held in November in San Diego, highlighted progress being made in cryogenics as applied in telecommunications. The reliability and long lifetime of projects now...

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...

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