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

DOE Chooses MSU for nuclear physics facility

The US Department of Energy announced on December 11 that Michigan State University has been selected as the site for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a $550 million research facility that will study rare nuclear isotopes and the evolution of the cosmos.

“We Build Cool Stuff” event covered in symmetry magazine

The following story appeared on the "symmetry breaking" website on November 21, 2008. Demand grows, wages rise for skilled workers in physics-related industry by Tona Kunz

Ray Szara, CSA Stalwart, passes away

Ray Szara, CSA board member, died Tuesday, November 11, 2008.

New method shows electron pairs precede HTS

Using new imaging methods, scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have confirmed that electron pairs that carry electrical current emerge above the transition temperature before superconductivity sets in.

Organizations urge Obama to appoint White House Science Advisor

The American Institute of Physics, the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society were among 180 organizations that signed letters to President-Elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, urging them to appoint a White House Science Advisor by Inauguration Day.

PBS’ Independent Lens to air “The Atom Smashers” on Nov.25

On Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 10:30 PM CST, PBS's Independent Lens will air a documentary called "The Atom Smashers." The film gives an in-depth look into particle physics, the Fermilab Tevatron, CERN's Large Hadron Collider and the search for the Higgs boson.

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

Magnetic Levitation

From http://www.superconductors.org. Magnetic-levitation is an application where superconductors perform extremely well. Transport vehicles such as trains can be made to “float” on strong superconducting magnets, virtually eliminating friction between the train and its tracks. Not only would conventional electromagnets waste much of the electrical energy as heat, they would have...

Superconductivity

From Superpower website. History of Superconductivity Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by the Dutch physicist, Heike Kammerlingh Onnes when he was able to liquefy helium by cooling it to 4 Kelvin, or -452°F. This enabled him to cool other materials close to absolute zero and investigate their electrical properties. He...

Medical Applications of Cryogenics

Neutron Therapy Cryogenics is at the heart of nuclear accelerators. Accelerators such as Fermilab’s Tevatron make neutron therapy for cancer possible. From Fermilab Today 4/20/09: Fermilab currently offers neutron therapy. But staff at Fermilab designed and built the proton accelerator used by the nation’s first hospital-based treatment center to use...

Nuclear Physics

Al Zeller National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab (NSCL) at Michigan State University zeller@nscl.msu.edu Cryogenics has a long history in nuclear physics. The technology has its origins in the use of cold traps for maintaining a vacuum, which is required to prevent beam loss and for generating high voltages used in acceleration....

Latest in Ask the Experts

Power requirement to liquefy hydrogen gas?

What is the power requirement to liquefy hydrogen gas?

Effect of cryogenic freezing on tone of bell?

I have been making bells for a few years out of Bell Bronze, 87% Copper. Would cryogenic freezing have any effect on the tone of a bell if I had it treated after casting? Your help would be appreciated.

Thermal conductivity of niobium, tantalum, lead, tin

I am interested in the thermal conductivity and other properties of low temperature superconductors. Specifically I am interested in materials like Niobium, Tantalum, Lead and Tin. Would you know of a publication that dealt with thermal properties in general and also gave specific data on these materials?

Could boxes of paper records be freeze-dried?

In the event of a disaster such as a flood, could boxes of paper records be freeze-dried? Could cryogenics help in the recovery efforts?

CATEGORIES