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Goddard Goings: When NASA Went SHOOTING Into Orbit

The ’80s have been thrust back into our collective conscious! Hits such as Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and “Running up that Hill” by Kate Bush have been introduced to a new generation by an incredibly popular cover of the first song and the repetitious use of the second in a...

Great Opportunity: RFI for Black Hole Cooling System

CSA April Newsletter SponsorHigh-performance, highly reliable, long-lasting storage tanks for transporting hydrogen & helium molecules around the globe.https://www.gardnercryo.com [Contact Jamie Luedtke for Newsletter Sponsorship] Home About Membership Login Calendar Cold Facts Buyer’s Guide News Publications Cryo Careers Resources Donate Join now Log in Cryogenic Society of America, Inc. Twitter Facebook...

Enhancing Fusion Reactor Control Through Combined Plasma Management Techniques

The team’s latest simulations, discussed in their recent publication in Nuclear Fusion, mark the first instance where ECCD and RMP have been used together experimentally. “We are exploring new frontiers with this approach, enhancing our control over plasma behavior,” commented Qiming Hu, a PPPL staff research physicist and the paper’s...

Giant Quantum Tornado Behaves Like a Black Hole in Miniature

A novel experimental platform known as a giant quantum vortex mimics certain behaviors of black holes, giving scientists an opportunity to observe the physics of these astrophysical structures up close. The vortex appears in superfluid helium cooled to near-absolute zero temperatures, and according to the team that made it, studies...

Cryogenic Processors to Open Kentucky-Based Freeze-Dry and Packaging Site

Cryogenic freezing specialist Cryogenic Processors will open a new cryogenic freezing and freeze-drying facility in Paducah, Kentucky, at the end of 2024. The plant will feature three isolated pelletising rooms, each equipped with advanced blending systems and a standard conical pelletiser with an increased capacity of 1000kg per hour. Once pelletized,...

Physicists Created an Exotic Superconductor Controlled by Magnetism

Superconductivity continues to revolutionize technology in so many ways. While some technological advances rely on finding ways to encourage zero-resistance currents at warmer temperatures, engineers are also considering better ways of fine-controlling the super-efficient flow of electrons. Unfortunately, many processes that would work just fine for run-of-the-mill electronics, such as the application...

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

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...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Searching for a company to make a specific kind of cryogenic chamber

I am writing a proposal to do some deep space simulations of mechanical vibrations at cryogenic temperatures. For the research, I will need to obtain a chamber that has a space of approximately 1700 cubic inches (or a 12in. cube) that also has an optical viewing window.