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

Lunar Regolith Excavation Has No Working Solution — 50 College Robots Compete at Kennedy to Change That

Six weeks after Artemis II’s crewed lunar flyby, the engineering gap blocking a Moon landing goes to the test floor Fifty college teams open three days of autonomous robot trials at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, testing what may be the single most stubborn engineering problem on the path...

Fermilab and Northern Illinois University Expand Quantum Workforce Pipeline with New Academic Initiatives

Fermilab and Northern Illinois University (NIU) have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to launch a specialized Master of Science in Physics program focused on quantum science and technology. The inaugural class is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2026, with students transitioning to hands-on research at...

Bluefors Joins Chicago Quantum Exchange

Bluefors has joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange, strengthening CQE’s Midwest roots as the region expands efforts to build a quantum supply chain, expand innovation capacity, and scale a quantum workforce. Bluefors plays a vital role in all three areas. We opened our first US-based Bluefors Lab in Chicago last year,...

NASA Set to Test Orbital ‘Gas Station’ Technology to Propel Moon and Mars Missions

NASA’s LOXSAT mission aims to test orbital fuel transfer, potentially turning spacecraft into “gas stations in space” for lunar and Mars missions. A groundbreaking NASA mission could soon transform how astronauts travel to the moon and beyond. The upcoming Liquid Oxygen Flight Demonstration (LOXSAT) will test critical technologies for storing...

AI has a power delivery problem. Superconductivity offers a path forward

AI is changing what power delivery must do, and new approaches are required Growing AI energy demand is not only forcing data centers to address generation challenges, but also how power is delivered. As power density rises and timelines tighten, high-temperature superconductors (HTS, also known simply as superconductors) are moving...

Molecular Qubit Achieves Single-Photon Quantum Control

A team of researchers report a single organic molecule can now store, manipulate and read out quantum information one molecule at a time using light. They add that their work hints at a possible new quantum modality built from chemically engineered molecules rather than fabricated semiconductor defects. The study, published...

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

Mixed Refrigerant Cycles

Most cryogenic refrigeration systems, both large scale systems and cryocoolers, use helium as a working fluid. There are a number of advantages to helium, not the least of which is that helium remains a fluid down to the lowest achievable temperatures. In order to freeze helium, pressures of over 20...

Fountain Pumps and He II Phase Separators

Helium II (He II), the second liquid phase of the 4He isotope described in this column in Cold Facts Spring 2010 (http://2csa.us/he2), can be modeled as consisting of two interpenetrating fluids. One, the superfluid component, has zero viscosity and entropy and the other, the normal fluid component, has nonzero viscosity...

Turboexpanders

A vital technology in the refrigerators and liquefiers described in Cold Facts Volume 31 Number 3 is that of turboexpanders. These devices are rotating machines in which the process fluid (e.g., helium) does work against the turboexpander while moving from high pressure to a lower pressure and thus is cooled....

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

TS diagram for helium

Where can I obtain a really big, nice TS diagram for helium ?

Reliability and mounting of electronic substrates at low temperatures

I am currently working on the design of a focal plane assembly to be implemented on a small satellite (4 EMCCD detectors) to be operated at -80°C (which is not really cryogenic and likely still considered boiling hot for most of you :-). As it is passively cooled, the assembly...

Are 3D drawings included in the sale of a cryogenic plant?

I have a question concerning the 3D drawings of a cryogenic plant. The integration of the 3D drawings of a plant with the 3D main model of a new laboratory or a new facility can be a complex work that takes a lot of time. I would like to know...

Looking for a source of LOX impact testing to ASTM D2512

I have been looking for a source of LOX impact testing to ASTM D2512. I am aware of NASA and White Sands, but am looking for a commercial entity doing the work. No luck so far, even calling a lot of the folks on the CSA website. Any referrals will...

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