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Stanford Finds Crystal That Could Revolutionize Quantum Tech

Superconductivity and quantum computing have rapidly evolved from theoretical frontiers to real-world technologies. The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics recognized breakthroughs in superconducting quantum circuits that promise ultra-powerful computing systems. Yet these technologies demand cryogenic operating conditions, near absolute zero, where most materials lose their useful properties. Identifying materials that...

VALCOR ENGINEERING ADDS NEW VIBRATION LABORATORY

Valcor Engineering Corporation, a longtime designer and manufacturer of precision fluid and motion control components—including cryogenic solenoid valves—has expanded its in-house testing resources with the addition of a new Vibration Laboratory at its Springfield, New Jersey headquarters. The new facility provides full 3-axis (X, Y, Z) vibration testing, including sine...

Delta Reliably Meets the Need for Cryogenic Pipe Shoes in the LNG Space

As the LNG industry has grown, so has the number of suppliers who serve that market. No one knows that better, perhaps, than Delta Machine & Ironworks. The Baton Rouge-based fabricator is rapidly becoming the “go to” supplier of one of the most indisputably vital support products on LNG jobsites. Over...
‘Much-loved’ UW collaborator John Clarke wins the Nobel Prize in Physics

‘Much-loved’ UW collaborator John Clarke wins the Nobel Prize in Physics

  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis, “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.” Clarke, a professor emeritus of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, collaborates with the Axion Dark...

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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...

Magnets

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. Particle physics uses accelerators to recreate the conditions of the early universe in an attempt to piece together the complex puzzle of how we got to where we are today. These huge machines are used...

Energy Storage

From “Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications” by the Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors. With power lines increasingly congested and prone to instability, strategic injection of brief bursts of real power can play a crucial role in maintaining grid reliability. Small-scale Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) systems, based on...

Astronomy

ASTRONOMY IN SPACE by Peter V. Mason, retired,  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology. Pmason@alumni.caltech.edu In thinking about the reasons to perform astronomy in space, we first consider the effect of the earth’s atmosphere.  On a scale of decreasing energy, gamma rays, cosmic rays, X-rays and...

Cryocoolers

What is a Cryocooler? A mechanism that can extract heat from an object (cooler) and by doing so draw its temperature down below approximately 150 Kelvin (cryo). — (Courtesy Dr. Willy Gully) What is the difference between a Cryocooler and a Cryostat? A cryostat is any device designed to maintain...

Are there lists of existing biorepositories?

We are a relatively new Biorepository that was developed as part of a large breast cancer epidemiology study, and thus far we have accumulated DNA on over 8000 women along with extensive questionnaire, mammography, and case status data. I was wondering, are there lists of existing Biorepositories with their contents?...

Trying to design a system to store ammonia at -33°C

I am working on a project where we are trying to design a system to store ammonia at -33°C. In order to size the compressors to maintain the ammonia in the liquid state, I need to estimate the heat gained from the environment including the radiation from the sun and...