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Space Systems Command Grants Contracts for Space Laser Communication Prototypes

The EST program, part of SSC’s Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power Program Executive Office, aims to create on-orbit crosslink compatibility among future space systems. This will be achieved through a standardized enterprise waveform implemented in a long-range space optical communications terminal that is low in size, weight, power, and...

Fusion Power Is Now a Possible Dream

Fusion power, the Holy Grail of nuclear energy for decades, may finally be within our grasp. If the scientists and engineers at Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a company with close ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science and Fusion Center, are right, fusion is nearly ready for power market...

Atomic Spreading Produces Novel Superconductors

Custom layering. A single layer of the topological insulator WTe2 (green) was placed on top of a row of palladium seeds (each roughly 0.5 µm wide). Over time, palladium atoms spread out across the layer and formed Pd7WTe2 (blue-green). The sample is shown before heating (left), after 25 minutes at 210 °C (center),...

100 Years of Quantum Is Just the Beginning

Recognizing the importance of quantum science and the need for wider awareness of its past and future impact, dozens of national scientific societies gathered together to support marking 100 years of quantum mechanics with a U.N.-declared international year. The timeline of endorsements for this international year also included the International Union of Pure and...

Cool It Down–Isochoric Preservation

If you’ve ever made the mistake of putting certain fresh fruits or vegetables in the freezer, then you’re already familiar with the effects of freezing on biological tissue. Banana skins turn black and slimy. Whole oranges leak and deflate. Lettuce comes out limp and soggy. The cause of all this...

Advancing Spin Qubit Technology With Cryogenic Probing

In a recent article published in Nature, researchers developed a 300-mm cryogenic probing process to obtain high-volume data on spin qubit devices across full wafers. They optimized an industry-compatible process to fabricate spin qubit devices on a low-disorder host material, enabling automated probing of single electrons in spin qubit arrays across...

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

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...

History of Cryogenics

From the Fall 1999 issue of Cold Facts magazine Millennium Breakthroughs A variety of CSA members give different perspectives on the past millennium: What were the most significant breakthroughs in cryogenics during the past millennium? Prof. R.G. Scurlock, Kryos Technology, scurlock@soton.ac.uk (“Breakthrough” = way through obstacles — Oxford English Dictionary)...

Cryobiology

Andreas Sputtek Past President Society for Cryobiology sputtek@uke.uni-hamburg.de or http://www.sputtek.de/. The word cryobiology (from the Greek words “cryo” = cold, “bios” = life, and “logos” = science) literally signifies the science of life at low temperatures. In practice, this field comprises the study of any biological material or system (e.g.,...

Cryogenic Insulation

James E. Fesmire Cryogenics Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center james.e.fesmire@nasa.gov Introduction In today’s world, the use of cryogenics and low-temperature refrigeration is taking a more and more significant role. From the food industry, transportation, energy, and medical applications to the Space Shuttle, cryogenic liquids must be stored, handled, and...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Refrigeration capacity at 4.5 K for higher temp cryo systems

I would like to know how to calculate the equivalent refrigeration capacity at 4.5 K of a cryogenic system operating at higher temperature.

Need help with calculating flow rate

I have to maintain a certain mass (some tons) at 100 K by circulating in it GHe (through apposite channels). How can I calculate the flow rate needed? I suppose that the delta T (T inlet and T outlet) and the heat load on the mass are necessary. Knowing the...

What do cryogenics companies do about liability insurance?

What do cryogenics companies do about liability insurance? Is there a special type for cryogenics?

License requirements for storage and transport of cryogenic materials

Are you aware of permitting or license requirements (other than local city or town) needed for the storage or transportation of cryogenic materials?

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