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High-Spin State Suggests Unconventional Superconductivity

In an ordinary superconductor, electrons carry a spin of one-half and pair up and flow uninhibited with the help of vibrations in the atomic structure. The theory is well tested and can describe the behavior of most superconductors, but new research from the University of Maryland and its collaborators reports...

Currents of Spin Detected in Superconductor

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have shown that certain superconductors can also carry currents of spin, a result that could lead to a revolution in high-performance computing, according to the team, by dramatically reducing energy consumption.

US and India Expand Partnership in Search of Neutrinos

Scientists from the United States and India have a long history of scientific collaboration—including the discovery of the top quark— and now US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and India’s Atomic Energy Secretary Dr. Sekhar Basu have signed an agreement to expand cutting-edge neutrino science projects underway in both countries.

MiniBooNE Probes the Nucleus with Muon Neutrinos

Scientists working on the MiniBooNE experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (CSA CSM) report that they were able to identify exactly-known-energy muon neutrinos hitting the atoms at the heart of the particle detector. The result, published in Physical Review Letters, eliminates a major source of uncertainty when testing theoretical models...

UH Scientists Working on Liquid Argon System for Dark Matter Experiment in Italy

The University of Houston is helping to develop technology for DarkSide, a dark matter experiment at Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory. The UH team is both upgrading the DarkSide program’s first physics detector and working on an upgrade that will hold 3,800 gallons of liquid argon.

IARPA Moving Forward with SuperTools Project

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) has announced research contracts for its “SuperTools” program, a multi-year research effort to develop comprehensive software tools for designing and analyzing superconducting electronics circuits.

Latest in Defining Cryogenics

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...

Latest in Cryo Central

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...

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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