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2016 Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics to David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz, three laureates who have used advanced topological methods to study unusual phases of matter, such as superconductors, superfluids or thin magnetic films. Thanks to their...

Spallation Neutron Source Marks a Decade of Research

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (CSA CSM) celebrated a decade of research at its Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) with an event on September 22. The SNS features a linear accelerator and accumulator ring. It sent the first protons to its one-of-a-kind mercury target in April 2006 and over the last decade...

LHC Smashing Collision Records

The LHC is colliding protons at a faster rate than ever before—approximately 1 billion times per second— and those collisions are adding up. This year alone the machine has produced roughly the same number of collisions as it did during all previous years of operation put together.

Argonne Breaks Ground on New Facility

Construction is under way at Argonne National Laboratory (CSA CSM) on the final building of its Energy Quad, a group of four adjoining buildings designed to maximize collaboration between energy and materials scientists. The new Materials Design Laboratory will allow scientists to discover new materials, understand how they work and...

Construction Moves Forward on Next-Gen Dark Matter Detector

The next-generation dark matter detector LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) has cleared another approval milestone and is on schedule to begin its deep-underground hunt for theoretical particles known as WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles, in 2020. Physicists consider WIMPs among the top prospects for explaining dark matter, the unseen stuff that scientists...

Alstom Unveils Hydrogen Powered Train

Alstom, a leader in integrated railway systems, unveiled a hydrogen-powered passenger train during an event at InnoTrans, a railway industry trade fair. The new train, Coradia iLint, is modeled after Alstom's diesel operated Coradia Lint 54, but will feature a CO2 emission-free hydrogen fuel cell engine. The first delivery is...

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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...

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...

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...