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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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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...

Magnetic Levitation

From http://www.superconductors.org. Magnetic-levitation is an application where superconductors perform extremely well. Transport vehicles such as trains can be made to “float” on strong superconducting magnets, virtually eliminating friction between the train and its tracks. Not only would conventional electromagnets waste much of the electrical energy as heat, they would have...

Superconductivity

From Superpower website. History of Superconductivity Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by the Dutch physicist, Heike Kammerlingh Onnes when he was able to liquefy helium by cooling it to 4 Kelvin, or -452°F. This enabled him to cool other materials close to absolute zero and investigate their electrical properties. He...

Medical Applications of Cryogenics

Neutron Therapy Cryogenics is at the heart of nuclear accelerators. Accelerators such as Fermilab’s Tevatron make neutron therapy for cancer possible. From Fermilab Today 4/20/09: Fermilab currently offers neutron therapy. But staff at Fermilab designed and built the proton accelerator used by the nation’s first hospital-based treatment center to use...

Nuclear Physics

Al Zeller National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab (NSCL) at Michigan State University zeller@nscl.msu.edu Cryogenics has a long history in nuclear physics. The technology has its origins in the use of cold traps for maintaining a vacuum, which is required to prevent beam loss and for generating high voltages used in acceleration....

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...