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Aerojet awarded contract from NASA Glenn Research Center

GenCorp Inc. company Aerojet has been awarded a contract from NASA Glenn Research Center for the development of a 5,500lbf Liquid Oxygen-Liquid Methane engine. Liquid-Oxygen Liquid-Methane propulsion systems have been identified as a promising option for future space vehicles.

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.

Aqua Cure Ltd. awarded contract by US Air Force

Aqua Cure Ltd., Buffalo NY, has been awarded a $131,430 contract by the US Air Force for cryogenic vaporizers.

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.

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

Colleges that offer cryogenic studies

Would you happen to know of any colleges in the US that offer cryogenics as a major? If not, should I major in something like biology or physics before, then branch off to the field of cryogenics? Any information that you could give me would be greatly appreciated, considering this...