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NASA extends Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s contract

NASA awarded a contract extension to Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. company. The extension will allow the company to continue development of the Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine (CECE), in an effort to support future lunar landing development.

Hydrogen rocket technologies prepare for lift-off

An engine which is fueled by a mix of liquid oxygen and hydrogen has been developed to demonstrate advanced rocket technologies for future space vehicles, such as lunar vehicles, and has achieved a technical milestone in throttling capability.

Drell appointed acting director at SLAC

Persis Drell has been appointed acting director at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC); she was formerly deputy director. She succeeds Jonathan Dorfan who becomes assistant to the president, focusing on the relationship between Stanford University and SLAC.

Norman R. Augustine speaks at AAAS meeting

During the AAAS meeting held on February 18, 2008, Norman R. Augustine shared some challenging and interesting insight into the alarming state of science and technology research and education in the United States.

Tevatron sets a new record

The Tevatron set a new record on Monday, March 17, 2008 when it produced more particle collisions per second than ever before. Breaking the barrier of 3E32 for the first time, the Tevatron reached a record peak luminosity of 3.15 E32 cm^ -2 sec^ -1. The record came on the...

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Joule-Thomson Effect

The Joule-Thomson (JT) effect is a thermodynamic process that occurs when a fluid expands from high pressure to low pressure at constant enthalpy (an isenthalpic process). Such a process can be approximated in the real world by expanding a fluid from high pressure to low pressure across a valve. Under...

Current Leads

One of the challenges of using superconducting magnets is the connection of the magnet to a room temperature power supply. This is accomplished via current leads. The trick is that current leads should ideally have a low heat leak, since they connect room temperature to cryogenic temperature, while at the...

Multilayer Insulation

Multilayer insulation (also referred to as superinsulation) is a key component in the reduction of heat leak to cryogenic systems due to thermal radiation. MLI consists of a series of uncooled reflective surfaces placed in the vacuum space between two surfaces, one warmer than the other. Generally speaking, for ideal...

Air Separation and Liquefaction

by Nils Tellier, PE, President, EPSIM Corporation (CSA CSM) nils@epsim.us All illustrations courtesy EPSIM Corporation Background History of Air Separation and Liquefaction This section builds on a rich history of methods to develop deep refrigeration and cryogenic liquefaction during the 19th Century. You are encouraged to read Cryo Central’s History...

Bose-Einstein Condensate

A Bose-Einstein condensate, first proposed in 1925 by Albert Einstein based on work done by Satyendra Nath Bose (the same Bose from whom the term boson is derived), is a super-cold state of matter in which almost all of the individual atoms have “condensed” down to the lowest possible quantum...

Cold Technology for Pest Control

While it does not reach temperatures cold enough to be called cryogenic, carbon dioxide snow is at the heart of a new way of dealing with unwanted pests. It utilizes a quick freezing process that takes advantage of the properties of carbon dioxide snow and has a number of benefits...

Cryogenic Finishing

The following 3 articles discuss the uses and procedures of various type of cryogenic finishing. 1) By Robin A. Rhodes, Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Cryogenic Deflashing is employed to remove undesired residual mold flash that remains on molded parts after they are removed or ejected from the...

An Issue of Pressure and Flow Rate in a Supply Tank

Please help solve this problem: A supply tank requires a vaporizer to generate sufficient pressure to pump stored fluid up into a vehicle or tank. The available head is limited as the tank level falls and it is important to minimize the system pressure drop to maintain the desired flow...

Using MLI on VJ Line Joints or Cryo Storage Tanks

When installing Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets on VJ line joints or cryo storage tanks should they be wrapped and tied down tight or loose? These are usually pre-cut to size. Also should they have an access hole at the point of where the molecular sieve is installed to help...