Cold Facts Digital – Page 63 – The go-to place for Cryogenics and Superconductivity

Is Space Hibernation Possible? From Passengers Movie to NASA Research

The new sci-fi film “Passengers” is filled with action, romance and—like many a good space yarn—hibernation or sleep pods. A malfunction in the devices results in a 90-years too early wake-up call for the film's protagonists and re-awakens in the audience the notion of decades-long deep-space missions truncated through peaceful...

New Theoretical Framework for Improved Particle Accelerators

Physicists at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), in collaboration with researchers in South Korea and Germany, have developed a theoretical framework for improving the stability and intensity of particle accelerator beams. Accelerator beams consist of billions of charged particles that zip through tunnels or...

Researchers to Open SESAME in 2017

Scientists and engineers at the first synchrotron radiation source in the Middle East have begun commissioning the machine, a significant milestone before officially starting operations in 2017. When fully operational, the SESAME facility in Allan, Jordan, will mark a major victory for science in the region.

NASA’s Cryogenics Test Lab Shares Expertise

When companies around the world want to understand the energy efficiency of a particular system or material, they often call on Kennedy Space Center’s Cryogenics Test Laboratory (CSA CSM). For the past 20 years, the lab has worked with industry partners to not only test materials but to help establish...

DOE Funds HTS Manufacturing Projects for Next Generation Machines

In late November, the US Department of Energy allocated $25 million to support 13 projects designed to advance technology used in industrial electric motors. The devices, according to the DOE, account for approximately 70 percent of the electricity consumed by US manufacturers and nearly a quarter of all electricity consumed...

Superconductivity of Bismuth Observed at .5 mK

Scientists from India report that pure Bismuth (Bi) is superconducting at ultralow temperatures, a discovery that cannot be explained by standard models of superconductivity.

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

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...

Latest in Ask the Experts

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?

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