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China Sets World Record With 35.1-Tesla Superconducting Magnet, Advancing Fusion and Energy Research

This photo, taken on Sept. 28, 2025, shows the superconducting magnet developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) in Hefei. Credit: Xinhua/Wu Huijun by Chen Na, Chinese Academy of Sciences The race to generate stronger, more stable magnetic fields has become a cornerstone of modern...

Figure 1: Electron Ion Collider. Credit: Brookhaven

Brookhaven Expands Cryogenic Capabilities for the Electron-Ion Collider Project

by Chintan Sheth, Mechanical Engineer, PMP, Brookhaven National Laboratory The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has been running successfully since the year 2000 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). 2025 will be RHIC’s final run, and the facility will be decommissioned after the run ends...

ALLVAR Alloys Solve Cryogenic Mismatch

ALLVAR Alloy 30 expands when cooled, the opposite of invar and aluminum, and maintains negative thermal properties at cryogenic temperatures. Credit: Allvar by James A. Monroe, Ph.D., ALLVAR Almost all materials expand when heated and contract when cooled, known as positive thermal expansion. Some materials expand and contract a lot...

IceCure Receives Notice of Patent Allowance in China for a Novel Cryogen Flow Control to Optimize Patient Cryoablation Outcomes

IceCure Medical Ltd., developer of minimally invasive cryoablation technology that destroys tumors by freezing them, announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) for a new patent titled “Cryogen Flow Control.” The patent relates to IceCure’s next-generation XSense™ cryoablation system and...

Professor Stefanie Gutschmidt, Head of UC’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, and UC Principal Researcher Dr Alan Caughley run the cyrocooler technology in the new CryoLab. Credit: UC Canterberry

UC Launches New Lab to Advance Cryogenics Research

University of Canterbury News The University of Canterbury (UC) has launched a new lab dedicated to cryogenics research and consultancy. CryoLab is now Aotearoa New Zealand’s only cryogenics research group combining advanced cryogenic refrigeration research with consulting to industry in cryogenics, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics. Cryogenics is the science of...

Quantum Design Acquires Oxford NanoScience, Joining Two Historic Cryogenic Companies

Quantum Design (QD) is pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of the Oxford NanoScience division of Oxford Instruments. This acquisition unites two industry leaders with a combined legacy of more than 100 years of experience and innovation in cryogenics, materials science, and microscopy. The expanded, shared product catalog...

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

Wind Tunnels

Dr. Robert Kilgore The development of the cryogenic wind tunnel is one of many significant breakthroughs in both cryogenics and wind-tunnel technology made during the past millennium. Interest in the development of high-speed commercial and military aircraft resulted in a review of problems of flow simulation in transonic wind tunnels...

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...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Seeking recommendations for commercial sensors

I would like to measure vibrations in small LHe cryostats. Could anybody recommend commercial sensors which would be suitable for the purpose? I am interested in the frequency range between 1Hz and a couple of KHz, with particular attention to the low frequency side.

Estimating cost of carbon steel, pure helium storage tanks

In order to perform an indicative cost assessment of our helium cryogenic plant (still in the design phase), I need an estimation of the cost of carbon steel room temperature pure helium storage tanks. The storage pressure is 20 bar. Can anyone give me suggestions about how to estimate the...

Supplier of pressure sensor that works down to 4.2 K

In an actual experiment we would like to measure the static pressure in a cryostat in the range between one and four bar. Therefore we are looking for some (more or less) cheap pressure sensors that work in liquid helium in the pressure range up to five bar. Unfortunately all...

Looking for reference/textbook suggestions

Can you suggest some reference textbooks for practical thermodynamics applications in cryogenic fields? I need textbooks with cryogenics calculations and examples, dimensioning procedures, second principle applications in cryogenics, heat load calculations, cryogenic pump application, etc. Do such books exist? Does any similar source of information exist?

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