CSA Remembers Bill Shields 1936 – 2018
We regret to report that William “Bill” Shields, co-founder of Janis Research Company and longtime friend of CSA, died July 13 at age 82, after an extended period of declining health.
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National Ignition Facility Reveals How Hydrogen Becomes Metallic inside Giant Gas Planets
Swirling dense metallic hydrogen dominates the interiors of Jupiter, Saturn and many extra-solar planets. Building precise models of these giant planets requires an accurate description of the transition of pressurized hydrogen into this metallic substance – a long-standing scientific challenge.
Boston Scientific acquires Cryterion Medical, enters cryoablation market
Boston Scientific recently announced acquisition of Cryterion Medical, Inc., a company developing a cryoablation platform to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), positioning it in the growing electrophysiology market.
American Physical Society Publishes 60th Anniversary Edition of the Review of Particle Physics
The latest edition of the Review of Particle Physics, a resource for particle physicists, was published Aug. 17 in the American Physical Society’s Physical Review D journal, marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the international Particle Data Group (PDG) that produces the Review.
ICARUS neutrino detector installed in new Fermilab home
On Tuesday, Aug. 14, ICARUS moved into its new Fermilab home, a recently completed building that houses the large, 20-meter-long neutrino hunter. Filled with 760 tons of liquid argon, it is one of the largest detectors of its kind in the world. With this move, ICARUS now sits in the...
‘Deep Supercooling’ keeps liquids from freezing at very low temperatures for extended periods
Investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine (MGH-CEM) have developed a simple method to maintain water and water-based solutions in a liquid state at temperatures far below the usual freezing point for greatly extended periods of time—a development that may someday enable safe, extended preservation of...
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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...
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...
Suppliers of regenerator materials
I was looking for suppliers of regenerator materials. Can you please provide a list of vendors for: • Lead spheres • Bronze screen discs • Rare earth materials and spheres Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
Containing ice accumulation while recovering helium
We are implementing a system to recover helium from our Janis ST-500 continuous flow LHe cryostat. The recovery system uses standard 1/4″ plastic tubing, which we connect directly to the cryostat’s exhaust port. The problem with this setup is that the gas is still quite cold as it leaves the...
Looking for some advice regarding cryogenic modeling in ANSYS FEA software
I am looking for some advice regarding cryogenic modeling in ANSYS FEA software. I have been trying to use the Transient Thermal module, in workbench 14.5, to model the cooling of a device in a dilution fridge. I have approximate values for the cooling power of each plate in the...
Compensators and/or accumulators: Are they used in cryogenics?
Are compensators and/or accumulators, high or low pressure, used in cryogenics? Are they used in space?