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O”H” What a Feeling, Toyota Introduces Hydrogen Powered Semi

Toyota has announced a new zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell system designed for semi-truck use at the Port of Los Angeles. Dubbed "Project Portal," the proof of concept vehicle was unveiled at a press conference with port officials and representatives from the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission....

European XFEL Commissions Its Particle Accelerator

The European XFEL has successfully commissioned the particle accelerator that will drive its X-ray laser. When fully operational, the research facility will produce up to 27,000 X-ray laser flashes per second, each so short and intense that researchers can make pictures of structures and processes at the atomic level. The...

ICHEP Publishes 2016 Proceedings

Professor Young-Kee Kim, chair of ICHEP 2016 and professor of physics at the University of Chicago, has announced that proceedings from the high energy physics conference have been published online. The proceedings are organized by session topic and include full PDFs from presenters and research teams.

Microsoft and Rambus Extend Cryogenic Memory Collaboration

Microsoft and Rambus Inc. have expanded a research collaboration begun in 2015 to develop prototype systems that optimize computer memory performance at cryogenic temperatures. The new agreement extends joint efforts to enhance memory capabilities, reduce energy consumption and improve overall system performance.

GOES-S Undergoes Thermal Vacuum Testing

In March, engineers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems lifted NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) into a thermal vacuum chamber to begin testing its ability to function in the cold void of space at its orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. To simulate the environment of space, researchers removed air...

Hybrid Airships to Transfer Helium from Tanzania

Helium One, a company that holds a prospecting license for recently discovered helium deposits in Tanzania, intends to use Lockheed Martin's LMH-1 hybrid airships to transport the gas out of the country. The company's license includes three project areas in Tanzania, encompassing more than 4,500 km² of land with helium...

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Regenerators

Regenerators or regenerative heat exchangers are a key component of cryocoolers such as pulse tube cryocoolers (Cold Facts, August 2014). Regenerator performance greatly affects the coefficient of performance of cryocoolers. Improvements in regenerator design and, in particular, regenerator materials have been an important factor in the improvement of the performance...

Pulse Tube Cryocoolers

The development of pulse tube cryocoolers has been a significant topic of research and development over the past 20 or so years. Pulse tube cryocoolers have a number of advantages over other types of cryocoolers and are now available commercially. In order to understand pulse tube cryocoolers, it’s best to...

Thermal Expansion

Thermal expansion refers to the change in size (length or volume) that a material undergoes as its temperature changes. In cryogenic systems this effect can be quite large and must be allowed for in the design. In isotropic materials, which include most engineering materials, the thermal expansion is the same...

Cryogenic Electronics

Randall Kirschman, consulting physicist, Mountain View, California ExtElect@gmail.com Cryogenic electronics—the operation of electronic devices, circuits, and systems at cryogenic temperatures—has been a valuable technology for decades. Cryogenic electronics (also referred to as low-temperature electronics, or cold electronics) can be based on semiconductive devices, on superconductive devices, or on a combination...

Particle Physics: High Energy Physics

Cryogenics and High-Energy Physics 1. From symmetry magazine: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000627: Cryogenics is the study of how materials behave at temperatures near absolute zero. In high-energy particle accelerators, such frigid temperatures reduce the electrical resistance of wires in superconducting magnets, increasing the magnet strength and allowing faster particle acceleration. The same holds...

HTS Degaussing Systems

From the Spring 2009 issue of Cold Facts (Volume 25, Number 2): Thanks to a joint project by the US Navy and a number of industry partners, high temperature superconducting (HTS) technology is now at the heart of an advanced degaussing system aboard the USS Higgins at the naval station...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

From http://www.superconductors.org: An area where superconductors can perform a life-saving function is in the field of biomagnetism. Doctors need a non-invasive means of determining what’s going on inside the human body. By impinging a strong superconductor-derived magnetic field into the body, hydrogen atoms that exist in the body’s water and...

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...