Cold Facts Digital – The go-to place for Cryogenics and Superconductivity

zeroBOG™ Empowers Sustainable Operations

by Lennis Perez and Edward Tay, Sulzer The need for efficient and sustainable management of cryogenic gases extends far beyond traditional LNG applications. Enabling the recovery and reuse of boiloff gases, or BOG, across sectors such as hydrogen, e-methane and ammonia, supports the transition to low-carbon fuels and helps operators...

Liquid Air Comes of Age in Manchester

by Mark Vyvyan Robinson, Business Development Director, Highview Power As electricity systems integrate increasing volumes of renewable generation, the requirement for long-duration energy storage has become a defining challenge of the global energy transition. In northwest England, the city of Manchester and the surrounding Greater Manchester region are now home...

NASA Inches Closer to Martian Laser Communication

by Charlie Danaher, Danaher Cryogenics Bridging Interplanetary Distances Having a conversation between someone on Earth and Mars is not as science fiction as it used to be. That is thanks to scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California and their successful demonstration of the Deep Space Optical...

Vacuum Chambers Answer Quantum Demands and UHV Transfer Needs

by Mel Janecka, Atlas Technologies Quantum computing companies and research facilities often find aluminum and titanium vacuum chambers to be better equipped to maintain purity and ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) status. Plus, the chambers are non-magnetic and perform effectively within cryogenic conditions, critical for keeping qubits stable. Qubits, the basic units of...

Kathleen Amm’s Evolution in Cryo

When Kathleen Amm describes how she entered cryogenics, she does not point to a single defining moment. Instead, her path began with movement. In the early 1990s, she followed her thesis advisor Justin Schwartz from the University of Illinois to Tallahassee as the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory was opening....

WOMEN in CRYOGENICS and SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

Alexandria Burger, Bluefors – Manufacturing Engineer Manager Current projects: My current focus is leading a team to improve manufacturing efficiencies for 2026. These efficiency improvements will not only offset the increasing costs of materials but also allow us to reduce lead times. I also contribute to manufacturing documentation, 6S events,...

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

Resistance to embrittlement at low temperatures

Could anyone advise me about resistance to embrittlement at low temperatures for the alloys in subject, i.e. does the CF10M perform like the CF8M in the same cryogenic service (-215F)? Amara Maafi Amara.Maafi@bg-group.com

Need help with temperature dependent model

I am a fourth-year student at New Zealand University. My name is Xu Ke. I have a project to generate a temperature dependent model for inductor, capacitor and diode by using PLECS. PLECS is software which acts as a toolbox for MATLAB. In my models, the temperature is very low,...

In what form is water available in LN2?

Does anybody know in what form water is available in LN2? There probably is a block of ice in the bottom of the tank. But as water comes in many shapes, I can imagine snow or crystals floating free in the LN2. When water is available in LN2, could small...

Separating gases using cryogenics

We are looking for some consulting engineers who understand how to separate gases using cryogenics. We have a new process which takes biomass and converts it to 5 gases and we need to separate these gases into their pure forms. Thanks for your help. Malcolm Draper Energy Research Group LLC...

CATEGORIES