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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

Regenerators

Regenerators or regenerative heat exchangers are a key component of cryocoolers such as pulse tube cryocoolers (Cold Facts, August 2014). Regenerator performance greatly affects the coefficient of performance of cryocoolers. Improvements in regenerator design and, in particular, regenerator materials have been an important factor in the improvement of the performance...

Pulse Tube Cryocoolers

The development of pulse tube cryocoolers has been a significant topic of research and development over the past 20 or so years. Pulse tube cryocoolers have a number of advantages over other types of cryocoolers and are now available commercially. In order to understand pulse tube cryocoolers, it’s best to...

Thermal Expansion

Thermal expansion refers to the change in size (length or volume) that a material undergoes as its temperature changes. In cryogenic systems this effect can be quite large and must be allowed for in the design. In isotropic materials, which include most engineering materials, the thermal expansion is the same...

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

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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