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Pier Oddone comments on WFIRST and LSST

From Director's Corner in Fermilab Today: Last week the National Research Council unveiled the Decadal Survey of astronomy and astrophysics, “New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics.”

AMS to depart for Kennedy Space Center

On August 26, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will depart from Geneva International Airport and begin its journey to Kennedy Space Center on board a US Air Force Galaxy transport aircraft.

ARRA funds SCRF work at Fermilab

From Fermilab Today: About 200 Chicago-area tradespeople will find work constructing Fermilab’s first superconducting radio-frequency cryomodule test facility during the next year.

Canelli wins IUPAP Young Scientist Prize

From Fermilab Today: Florencia Canelli, a CDF physicist, was recently awarded the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Commission on Particles and Fields Young Scientist Prize.

Masson receives CSA’s Boom Award

Dr. Philippe J. Masson, Senior Scientist at Advanced Magnet Lab, has received the 2010 Roger W. Boom Award from the Cryogenic Society of America. Masson was chosen for his outstanding record of accomplishment in applied superconductivity R&D for power applications and rotating machinery. Masson has also made important contributions to...

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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...