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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...

Food Processing

Cryogenics and Food The industrial gas industry provides a host of products and services related to food. The various gases have useful and sometimes fascinating applications in food industry. “The food industry is not a homogenous industry. The needs of customers processing hamburger vs. poultry vs. strawberries vs. seafood, for...

Primary Standards

Elie K. Track Hypres, Inc. elie@hypres.com http://www.hypres.com/ Primary standards involve the exact definition and realization of units of measurement for various quantities, time, length, mass, voltage, resistance, current, etc. International agreements based on the latest scientific knowledge define those units, and their realizations vary depending on the unit itself. For...

Shrink Fitting

Robin A. Rhodes Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. rrhodes@nitrofreeze.com Shrink fitting, (or “compression fitting” as it is sometimes called), is a method used to insert a pin or bushing into a housing or other assembly requiring an extremely tight tolerance fit. It can be used as an alternative to...

Telecommunications

From the Winter 2004 issue of Cold Facts magazine The recent M-Calc IV — 4th Industry Assessment workshop discussing military and commercial applications for low-cost cryocoolers, held in November in San Diego, highlighted progress being made in cryogenics as applied in telecommunications. The reliability and long lifetime of projects now...

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...