Cold Facts Digital – Page 104 – The go-to place for Cryogenics and Superconductivity

Remembering our Friend, Ray Radebaugh (1939-2026)

The cryogenics community lost one of its most influential figures with the passing of Ray Radebaugh in February 2026. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Radebaugh helped shape modern cryogenic engineering through pioneering research, devoted mentorship and an unwavering willingness to share knowledge. His work on cryocoolers, dilution...

Cryogenics in Motion: Spaceline Delivers Advanced Nitrogen Trailer for NASA Armstrong

Spaceline Technologies, a fluid system engineering and manufacturing company, has completed a cryogenic nitrogen transport and supply trailer for NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. This trailer is a mobile and standalone solution to provide pressure regulated nitrogen gas and liquid with flowrate and temperature control. Control of the trailer can...

Cryogenics and the Road to Superconducting Propulsion: Part I for Aircrafts

by Quan-Sheng Shu, cryospc.com and Jonathan Demko, Le Tourneau University Superconducting (SC) motors are pivotal for future transportation, offering power densities exceeding 20 kW/kg. Cooling philosophies diverge by architecture: partially superconducting aircraft designs (like NASA’s HEMM) utilize integrated mechanical cryocoolers for the rotor, whereas fully superconducting aircraft favor liquid hydrogen...

Pelican Wire Designs for Cryogenic and Extreme Energy Systems

As renewable energy, electrification and advanced research technologies continue to expand, the demands placed on wire and cable systems are evolving just as rapidly. Higher power densities, tighter system integration and increasingly extreme operating environments are pushing manufacturers beyond traditional commodity wire solutions. Caleb Lemmons, Business Development Manager at Pelican...

Meet the 2026 Young Professionals

This feature introduces outstanding young professionals (under 40 years of age) who are doing interesting things in cryogenics and superconductivity and who show promise of making a difference in their fields. Debuted in the 2006 issue, the feature has presented many young persons whom we are proud to see have...

Extraterrestrial Specifications for Cryogenic Fluid Production

by Wesley Johnson, NASA Glenn Research Center Here on our home planet, where we have been liquefying various “permanent gasses” since 1877 [1], most of us take it for granted that when we go out to buy a cryogenic liquid (or even a pure gas) we don’t have to write...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Refrigerators and Liquefiers

Two of the most common terms used in cryogenics are “refrigerator” and “liquefier.” These terms describe similar and, as will be seen, in some cases identical components. A refrigerator provides cooling (that is, absorbs heat) at cryogenic temperatures. Refrigerators typically put a working fluid (such as helium) through one of...

Air Separation

Air separation is one of the largest, as well as earliest, industrial applications of cryogenics. In this process, cryogenic temperatures are used to separate air into its constituent gases: nitrogen (78.08%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%) and carbon dioxide (0.3%). Trace gases such as krypton, neon, xenon and helium total far...

Coefficient of Performance and Figure of Merit

The coefficient of performance (COP) is used to describe the effectiveness of refrigerators, including those operating at cryogenic temperatures. The COP is defined as the amount of heat removed at the cryogenic operating temperature of the refrigerator divided by the amount of work that must be applied to remove the...

Latest in Cryo Central

Air Separation and Liquefaction

by Nils Tellier, PE, President, EPSIM Corporation (CSA CSM) nils@epsim.us All illustrations courtesy EPSIM Corporation Background History of Air Separation and Liquefaction This section builds on a rich history of methods to develop deep refrigeration and cryogenic liquefaction during the 19th Century. You are encouraged to read Cryo Central’s History...

Bose-Einstein Condensate

A Bose-Einstein condensate, first proposed in 1925 by Albert Einstein based on work done by Satyendra Nath Bose (the same Bose from whom the term boson is derived), is a super-cold state of matter in which almost all of the individual atoms have “condensed” down to the lowest possible quantum...

Cold Technology for Pest Control

While it does not reach temperatures cold enough to be called cryogenic, carbon dioxide snow is at the heart of a new way of dealing with unwanted pests. It utilizes a quick freezing process that takes advantage of the properties of carbon dioxide snow and has a number of benefits...

Cryogenic Finishing

The following 3 articles discuss the uses and procedures of various type of cryogenic finishing. 1) By Robin A. Rhodes, Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Cryogenic Deflashing is employed to remove undesired residual mold flash that remains on molded parts after they are removed or ejected from the...

Latest in Ask the Experts

Dry ice vs. LN2 for preserving tissue

I was wondering if anyone could provide feedback/data on whether it is best in terms of preserving tissue quality to freeze tissue in OCT using dry ice versus liquid nitrogen?

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?...

Heat flux value for inner vessel when vacuum insulation fails

To size a relief valve for a LN2 cryostat I have to know “worse case” boil-off rate when vacuum insulation failed and inner vessel with LN2 is in direct contact with room temperature air at 300K. So, I am looking for a heat flux value (watt/m2) to LN2 inner vessel...

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...

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