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Cryogenic Systems Enable SOFIA Space Project

An interview with Nans Kunz, Senior Engineer at NASA Ames Research Center, and former SOFIA Chief Engineer. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) project is a telescope carried in a 747 aircraft up above the atmosphere. Kunz explains how cryogenics made the project more cost-effective and efficient.

Fermilab Director elected a fellow of the AAAS

Fermilab Director Pier Oddone as been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a prestigious honorary society and independent policy research center. Oddone joins Fermilab scientists Bill Bardeen and Helen Edwards in receiving this honor.

ORNL’s beam reaches 310 kilowatts

Oak Ridge National Laboratory became the world's most powerful source of pulsed neutrons when its beam reached 310 kilowatts in late January.

Fermilab addresses growing goose population

Fermilab Today reported that, "A new posse in town has its sights set on Fermilab's feathery fowl.

US Postal Service honors Professor John Bardeen

A US postage stamp commemorating the late UI physics Professor John Bardeen, inventor of the transistor and a two-time Nobel Prize Winner, was officially issued at Postage Stamp Mega-Event in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Ganni Cycle saves BNL in weekly electric costs

The "Ganni Cycle", invented by engineers at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, has been saving Brookhaven National Laboratory approximately $50,000 a week in electric costs for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).

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

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?

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