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Setting a Laser Like Sight on a Path to Practical Fusion

In the pursuit of a sustainable and efficient energy future, nuclear fusion, particularly the fusion of hydrogen nuclei, has long been regarded as a promising avenue by scientists. However, a significant hurdle has been the formidable requirement of achieving exceedingly high pressures and temperatures to initiate the fusion process. Dr....

CSA Celebrates the 2024 Women in Cryogenics and Superconductivity

  The Cryogenic Society of America and Cold Facts celebrates distinguished women who embody the expertise and drive that is putting cryogenics and superconductivity at the forefront of energy, aerospace, quantum, and myriad other fields of industry. Congratulations!  Jo Bartlett Melania Charles Juliette DeLoye Nasim Fatemighomi Hailee Morgan Atefeh Najfi  Dominika Porwisiak...

How Lake Shore Cryotronics is Helping Reduce Helium Costs in The Lab

Lake Shore Cryotronics’ Director of Product Management for Cryogenic Systems Rachael Floyd shares how Lake Shore Cryotronics is helping reduce helium costs in the lab. Why is the availability of helium becoming a pressing concern for research labs, and what unique challenges does it pose? The high cost of helium is a big...

Danaher Delivers Sub-Kelvin Pony Cryostat to Argonne

Scientists should spend their efforts on research, not on infrastructure! Scientists often need a reliable source of sub-kelvin cooling. Historically, because no reliable provider of such systems existed, many scientists were resigned to build their own. No longer. Identifying this unmet need in the science community, Danaher Cryo stepped up to...

ITER’s Magnets Conquer the 4 K Cryostat Challenge

Embarking on the frontiers of innovation, ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, heralds a new era with its superconducting magnets—a groundbreaking technological marvel designed to operate at an astonishingly low temperature of 4 K (-269 °C), just above absolute zero. ITER’s primary purpose is to explore and demonstrate the potential...

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Refrigerators and Liquefiers

Two of the most common terms used in cryogenics are “refrigerator” and “liquefier.” These terms describe similar and, as will be seen, in some cases identical components. A refrigerator provides cooling (that is, absorbs heat) at cryogenic temperatures. Refrigerators typically put a working fluid (such as helium) through one of...

Air Separation

Air separation is one of the largest, as well as earliest, industrial applications of cryogenics. In this process, cryogenic temperatures are used to separate air into its constituent gases: nitrogen (78.08%), oxygen (20.95%), argon (0.93%) and carbon dioxide (0.3%). Trace gases such as krypton, neon, xenon and helium total far...

Coefficient of Performance and Figure of Merit

The coefficient of performance (COP) is used to describe the effectiveness of refrigerators, including those operating at cryogenic temperatures. The COP is defined as the amount of heat removed at the cryogenic operating temperature of the refrigerator divided by the amount of work that must be applied to remove the...

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...