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World’s First Crewed LH2 Flight Takes Off

At a somewhat small and unassuming airport in Maribor, Slovenia, German hydrogen propulsion startup H2FLY has quietly been building up to a major milestone in zero-emission aviation over the summer. And all the hard work has come to fruition, with the successful completion of the world’s first crewed liquid hydrogen-powered...

A Quantum Leap in Next-Gen Optical Atomic Clocks

QuantX Labs, an Australian deep technology company, has achieved a groundbreaking advancement with its cryogenic sapphire oscillator, the Cryoclock. Operating at microwave frequencies, it offers unparalleled signal purity and stability, attracting interest from defense and commercial markets while also spearheading the development of advanced quantum technology for space applications. QuantX...

Strain Manipulates TaSe3 for Quantum Effects

Topological effects are predicted to have many potential uses in future electronic devices. Therefore, finding ways to control these effects is desirable. As predicted by first-principles calculations, the one-dimensional (1D) transition-metal trichalcogenide TaSe3 is a strongly topological semimetal. It has a unique atomic arrangement of two inequivalent chains; the shorter...

Cryogenics at FAIR Unleashes the Power of Discovery

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany, is embarking on a pioneering mission that will transform accelerator research and expand our understanding of the universe. With its ambitious vision to explore an extensive research canvas, FAIR is set to become a global hub for scientific exploration,...

IRLabs Pioneers Solutions for High Altitude Scientific Exploration

In the pursuit of scientific knowledge, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) embarked on a mission to explore the enigmatic properties of atomic oxygen in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Understanding the impact of this element on satellite corrosion, deceleration in low-Earth orbits and its role as an indicator of climate change held...

NIF Journeys to Ignition

December 5, 2022, marked a historic breakthrough in the field of fusion research as scientists achieved ignition, a momentous achievement that has been a scientific grand challenge spanning over 50 years. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) within the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved an igniting fusion reaction where the...

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

Primary Standards

Elie K. Track Hypres, Inc. elie@hypres.com http://www.hypres.com/ Primary standards involve the exact definition and realization of units of measurement for various quantities, time, length, mass, voltage, resistance, current, etc. International agreements based on the latest scientific knowledge define those units, and their realizations vary depending on the unit itself. For...

Shrink Fitting

Robin A. Rhodes Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Shrink fitting, (or “compression fitting” as it is sometimes called), is a method used to insert a pin or bushing into a housing or other assembly requiring an extremely tight tolerance fit. It can be used as an alternative to...

Telecommunications

From the Winter 2004 issue of Cold Facts magazine The recent M-Calc IV — 4th Industry Assessment workshop discussing military and commercial applications for low-cost cryocoolers, held in November in San Diego, highlighted progress being made in cryogenics as applied in telecommunications. The reliability and long lifetime of projects now...

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...

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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