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New Glenn Completes Initial Cryogenic Testing at Launch Complex 36

Blue Origin continues to take big steps forward with its New Glenn orbital rocket as hardware rolls out to the launch pad, cryogenic testing begins, and the BE-4 engine gains a new test stand. The company still aims to launch New Glenn at least once in 2024. Over the past month,...

Maybell Quantum Announces $25 Million Series A Funding Led By Cerberus

Maybell Quantum (“Maybell”), the quantum infrastructure company, has closed a $25 million funding round led by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. (“Cerberus”), a global leader in alternative investing. This investment marks the start of a pivotal chapter in Maybell’s development. With Cerberus’ financial backing and operational support, Maybell...

ISRO Achieves Big Milestone For Human Mission Gaganyaan’s Cryogenic Engine

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the space agency of the government of India responsible for the country’s space research and exploration programs, has achieved a major milestone in the human rating of its CE20 cryogenic engine, which powers the cryogenic stage of the human-rated LVM3 launch vehicle for Gaganyaan human...

Surface Superconductivity Appears in Topological Materials

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research at IFW Dresden, Germany, have found proof for surface superconductivity in a class of topological materials known as Weyl semimetals. Interestingly, the superconductivity, which comes from electrons confined in so-called Fermi arcs, is slightly different on the top and...

BV Approves Concept for a Full-Size Liquid Hydrogen Carrier

A consortium of French shipping, vessel design and energy companies have achieved approval in principle for a new membrane tank-based transport system for liquid hydrogen, including both the underlying containment technology and an initial vessel design. GTT, the longtime leader in membrane containment systems for LNG carriers, has designed a new...

Machine Learning Takes Hassle Out of Cold-Atom Experiments

Cold atoms solve many problems in quantum technology. Want a quantum computer? You can make one from an array of ultracold atoms. Need a quantum repeater for a secure communications network? Cold atoms have you covered. How about a quantum simulator for complicated condensed-matter problems? Yep, cold atoms can do that, too. The downside...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Refrigerators and Liquefiers

Two of the most common terms used in cryogenics are “refrigerator” and “liquefier.” These terms describe similar and, as will be seen, in some cases identical components. A refrigerator provides cooling (that is, absorbs heat) at cryogenic temperatures. Refrigerators typically put a working fluid (such as helium) through one of...

Air Separation

Air separation is one of the largest, as well as earliest, industrial applications of cryogenics. In this process, cryogenic temperatures are used to separate air into its constituent gases: nitrogen (78.08%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%) and carbon dioxide (0.3%). Trace gases such as krypton, neon, xenon and helium total far...

Coefficient of Performance and Figure of Merit

The coefficient of performance (COP) is used to describe the effectiveness of refrigerators, including those operating at cryogenic temperatures. The COP is defined as the amount of heat removed at the cryogenic operating temperature of the refrigerator divided by the amount of work that must be applied to remove the...

Latest in Cryo Central

History of Cryogenics

From the Fall 1999 issue of Cold Facts magazine Millennium Breakthroughs A variety of CSA members give different perspectives on the past millennium: What were the most significant breakthroughs in cryogenics during the past millennium? Prof. R.G. Scurlock, Kryos Technology, scurlock@soton.ac.uk (“Breakthrough” = way through obstacles — Oxford English Dictionary)...

Cryobiology

Andreas Sputtek Past President Society for Cryobiology sputtek@uke.uni-hamburg.de or http://www.sputtek.de/. The word cryobiology (from the Greek words “cryo” = cold, “bios” = life, and “logos” = science) literally signifies the science of life at low temperatures. In practice, this field comprises the study of any biological material or system (e.g.,...

Cryogenic Insulation

James E. Fesmire Cryogenics Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center james.e.fesmire@nasa.gov Introduction In today’s world, the use of cryogenics and low-temperature refrigeration is taking a more and more significant role. From the food industry, transportation, energy, and medical applications to the Space Shuttle, cryogenic liquids must be stored, handled, and...

Cryogenic Treatment of Materials

F.J. Diekman Controlled Thermal Processing, Inc. info@metal-wear.com Cryogenic Processing (also called cryogenic treatment, and incorrectly “cryogenic tempering”) is a process that uses cryogenic temperatures to modify materials to enhance their performance. Cryogenic Processing involves the slow reduction in temperature of the material to at least -300°F (-185°C) and holding the...

Latest in Ask the Experts

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...

Separated layers of ice over a pipe

I want to know that why there are different layers of ice over a pipe carrying a cryogenic fluid, each layer separated with clear marks / lines? What do these layers signify?

Using nitrogen as a cryogen

Is it possible to achieve -200˚C using nitrogen as a cryogen?

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