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Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source Unravels Mummy, Leaves Linens Untouched

Northwestern University scientists and students are working to unravel the mysteries of a small female mummy, including how her body was prepared 1,900 years ago in Egypt, what items she may have been buried with, the quality of her bones and the composition of a foreign material present in her...

Niowave’s Electron Linacs Target New Projects

From the quaint neighborhood streets that run alongside its perimeter, Niowave, Inc. appears as unassuming as the converted local elementary school from which it operates. But inside, where water fountains and toilets still perch low to the ground and footsteps echo off hallway lockers, its employees have assumed the once...

Researchers Observe Four-dimensional Physics in Two Dimensions

Physicists from two research groups have announced techniques that allow materials in four-dimensional space to be studied in two-dimensional systems. Both experiments dealt with the quantum Hall effect, a phenomenon that has been at the root of three Nobel Prizes in physics.

NASA Releases Logo For Upcoming 60th Anniversary

NASA will mark the 60th anniversary of its establishment as a US government agency on October 1, 2018. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed NASA’s founding legislation, the 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act, on July 29, 1958, though NASA celebrates its birthday on October 1, the day the agency opened...

Chart Acquires Skaff Cryogenics

Chart Industries, Inc. announced its acquisition of Skaff Cryogenics and Cryo-Lease, LLC in early January. The acquisition, according to Chart, expands the company's direct regional presence for service and aftermarket support in the Northeast United States.

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Helium-3

Helium-3 (3He) is one of the two stable isotopes of helium. The other is the much more common Helium-4 (4He). Neither of these isotopes should be confused with He II, which is the second liquid phase of 4He. He II was discussed in this column in the Spring 2010 edition...

Cryopumping

Cryopumping refers to the use of cryogenic temperatures to produce vacuum in enclosed spaces. More broadly, it can also refer to the removal of gases via cryogenic temperatures from a flow stream or enclosure without necessarily resulting in vacuum pressures. This is an important application of cryogenics and is used...

Thermal Acoustic Oscillations

Thermal Acoustic Oscillations (TAO) are a common event in cryogenic systems that can have significant adverse effects on the performance of the system. TAOs are sustained pressure oscillations that can occur in tubes containing gas, closed at one end (the warm end) that have a very large temperature gradient along...

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...

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...