Cold Facts Digital – Page 63 – 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

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

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

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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