ESA’s Herschel space observatory has exhausted its supply of liquid helium coolant, ending more than three years of pioneering observations of the cool Universe.
Month: April 2013
Two new senior staff scientists appointed at SLAC
The leader of SLAC's involvement in the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search and an instrument scientist with the Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser have been appointed senior staff scientists at SLAC.
CGA announces the 5th edition of the Handbook of Compressed Gases
The fifth edition of the CGA's Handbook of Compressed Gases has been significantly revised with expanded content, updated regulatory and technical information, and color graphs and figures to meet the needs of today's compressed gas industry.
Cryogenic Dark Matter Search adds new intrigue with the latest result
Physicists operating an experiment located half a mile underground in Minnesota reported that they have found possible hints of dark-matter particles. The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment has detected three events with the characteristics expected of dark matter particles, MIT graduate student Kevin McCarthy reported at the American Physical Society meeting in Denver on April 13.
Teamwork celebrated at ITER Conductor Meeting
In pre-ITER times, the world production of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) strands did not exceed 15 tons per year. Discovered in 1954, this intermetallic compound that exhibits a critical temperature of ~18 K and is able to withstand intense magnetic fields was used mainly in high field coils and nuclear magnetic resonance equipment.
New “Ask the Experts” question: Problem sending LN2 through hoses – need to minimize heat leak
Help this person solve his problem with heat leak in two hoses of different lengths.
Problem sending LN2 through hoses – need to minimize heat leak
We use liquid nitrogen at our power station to freeze light and heavy water in piping. The ice plug formed within the piping acts as a "valve" and allows us to work on a section of the piping system that otherwise cannot be isolated. The liquid nitrogen enters a jacket that surrounds the piping. The … Continue reading Problem sending LN2 through hoses – need to minimize heat leak
Cyclotron founder Henry Blosser leaves large legacy at MSU
When Michigan State University went looking for someone who could build a cyclotron from scratch, Henry Blosser wasn’t the first choice. He got the job only after two of his co-workers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a Canadian researcher had turned it down.
GE completes trials of HTS technology for power generation
GE’s Power Conversion has successfully completed trials of Hydrogenie, a power generator incorporating groundbreaking technologies that enable highly efficient production of electricity in a small space. Hydrogenie makes use of superconductors instead of copper for the rotor windings on the motor, operating at 43 Kelvin or -230°C.
Electron conflict leads to ‘bad traffic’ on way to superconductivity
Rice University physicists on the hunt for the origins of high-temperature superconductivity have published new findings about a seemingly contradictory state in which a material simultaneously exhibits the conflicting characteristics of both a metallic conductor and an insulator.
Light tsunami in a superconductor
An international research team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has managed to selectively influence superconductivity with a powerful terahertz laser. This very precise laser light turns into a vortex which moves through the superconductor like a tsunami.
AMS experiment measures antimatter excess in space
The international team running the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) announced on April 3 the first results in its search for dark matter. The AMS paper, to be published in the journal Physical Review Letters, reports the observation of an excess of positrons in the cosmic ray flux. AMS spokesperson Professor Samuel Ting presented the AMS findings in a webcast seminar at CERN.
Air Liquide celebrates startup of a new plant in Cleburne, Texas
Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP held a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 5, 2013, to celebrate its new nitrogen liquefier at its facility in Cleburne, Texas. The new liquefier, the second of two now in operation at the Cleburne facility, will enable Air Liquide to increase its supply of liquid nitrogen to customers in a range of industries, including food and beverage, manufacturing, glass, electronics, oil and gas and chemicals.
NASA asks universities for early stage innovation tech proposals
NASA is seeking innovative, early-stage space technology proposals from accredited US universities that will enable NASA's future missions and America's leadership in space. Proposals are sought for science instruments, cryogenic propellant storage for long-duration space exploration, optical coatings for astrophysical pursuits, oxygen recovery for life support systems, and to improve our understanding of and protection from near-Earth asteroids.
Air Liquide launches its new “Gas Encyclopedia” iPad app
Air Liquide's newly launched iPad app allows users to quickly access a host of information on the physical and chemical properties of 64 gas molecules (oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, etc.) in their solid, liquid and gaseous states.
Will Ultralow Temperatures Leave the Research Laboratory?
Dr. Joel Ullom, NIST, writes in his guest column: "Cryogenic techniques are widely used in industry and medical imaging. However, cooling to temperatures near 1K and below (into the millikelvin range) remains rare. Such ultralow temperatures (ULTs) are largely confined to research laboratories where they are a powerful tool for the study of quantum-mechanical phenomena normally hidden by thermal noise. Still, ULTs are becoming increasingly common, are used on larger scales and are used in more challenging settings."
The Next Niobium Goal: Medium-Field SRF Cavities with High Quality Factor
In his guest column, Dr. Lance Cooley writes, "We are now beginning to evolve our present knowledge about producing high-gradient cavities to take on goals of high-Q CW cavities. The starting point for this transition is clearly to explore simple adaptations of the present ILC process. But it is not clear how to define the endpoint of the transition, because we have incomplete knowledge about the materials aspects that determine the limits of Q, let alone those that set limits on accelerating gradient. Further, we are only at a first generation of a working description of the material state that is produced by the rather empirical ILC cavity process, as well as the relative importance of various details for superconductivity. How do we adapt this model for the mission of high Q? What now are the tradeoffs to exploit?"
American College of Cryosurgery Holds Annual Meeting
The American College of Cryosurgery, founded in 1977, hosted its first meeting January 2-7, 2013, after a hiatus of nearly ten years. The meeting venues provided a unique experience for participants and accompanying guests. A land-based session was held at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Miami Hotel.
Donnelly Team Designs Cryogenic Remediation of Power Pollutants
Professor John M. Pfotenhauer writes, "The fields of low temperature physics and energy and environment do not frequently interact. Imagine my astonishment to find in the 2010 spring edition of a newsletter from the Department of Physics at my graduate school, the University of Oregon, that my thesis advisor from more than 28 years ago (wow!), Professor Russell Donnelly, who is well known for his many contributions to the field of low temperature physics (think quantized vortices in superfluid helium), was involved in a project to clean up the stack gases from coal-fired power plants!"
Cryo Community Mourns Donna Jung, International Cryogenics
It is with great regret that we report the sudden death of Donna Jung, President of International Cryogenics, on February 1, 2013. Jung was a leader in the cryogenic community, president of a longtime CSA Corporate Sustaining Member company, and a stalwart supporter of the Society. Jung, 52, was one of the second generation company leaders who make up the “Cryomafia.” She facilitated gatherings of the Cryomafia and played a key role in keeping the group together.