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Revolutionary Microscopy Technique Sees Individual Atoms for First Time

A “game-changing” technique for imaging molecules known as cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has produced its sharpest pictures yet and, for the first time, discerned individual atoms in a protein. The breakthrough reported by the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany, and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular...

Cryo-Ops 2020 to Connect Researchers, Industry Professionals in France

Cryo-Ops 2020, the 9th edition of the International Workshop on Cryogenic Operations, will be held in Grenoble, France, November 2-4. Organized by the Département des Systèmes Basses Températures (DSBT) and Université Grenoble-Alpes, the workshop will take place at the Institut Néel campus located in the world-class scientific GIANT (Grenoble Innovation...

DOE Announces New Lab Consortia to Advance Hydrogen, Fuel Cells

On June 23, the US Department of Energy announced that it will invest up to $100 million over five years in two new DOE National Laboratory-led consortia to advance hydrogen and fuel cell technologies research and development. One consortium will seek to achieve large-scale, affordable electrolyzers which use electricity to...

Rice Physicist Earns Grant to Study Magnetism

On June 23, the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences awarded Rice University experimental physicist Ming Yi a five-year grant to explore the details of magnetism in two-dimensional materials. She and her colleagues seek to learn the origin of magnetism in bulk materials that are exfoliated for use...

Bluefors, Physics World Offer Cryogenics in Quantum Technologies Webinar

Bluefors, a Finnish cryogenics company focused on the quantum computing industry, and Physics World are jointly presenting a free quantum computing-centered webinar open to the public. The live "Next Generation of Cryogenics: Tailored for Quantum Technologies" will be presented at 3 p.m. BST/5 p.m. EET on July 2, 2020. It...

Electricity Transmission Reaches Even Higher Intensities at CERN

In CERN’s superconducting equipment testing hall, an innovative transmission line has set a new record for the transport of electricity. The 60-meter long link has transported a total of 54,000 amperes (54 kA, or 27 kA in either direction). The line has been developed for the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), the...

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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...

Cryogenic thermophysical property data

I am in search of information regarding cryogenic thermophysical property data, specifically, Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Expansion, Stiffness and Modulus, in the 20K range. My list of materials include: Ti-6AL-4V (ELI), Al 6061-T651, and Invar (36%, plus any other composition which might have data available). Other materials which would be helpful...