Cryogenics as a technique involves the generation, control, and application of extremely low temperatures, typically below −150 °C, to manipulate physical, chemical, or biological systems. It encompasses methods for liquefying gases (e.g., helium, hydrogen, nitrogen) using staged compression–expansion, Joule–Thomson cooling, and regenerative heat exchange, as well as thermal insulation strategies such as multilayer insulation and high-vacuum environments. Cryogenic techniques enable superconductivity studies, low-temperature spectroscopy, quantum device operation, and preservation or embrittlement of materials by stabilizing phases, suppressing thermal noise, and altering transport properties, while requiring precise management of thermal loads, cryogen boil-off, and material behavior at cryogenic temperatures.
In 1911, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered the first superconductor, metallic mercury when cooled to a critical temperature of 4.2 Kelvin, where it conducts electricity without resistance. Ever since materials scientists ...
Quantum computers have to be kept cold to function—very cold. These machines generally run at "just a few degrees above absolute zero," says Yoseob Yoon, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern ...
Nanophysics
Jul 15, 2024
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EPFL engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of ...
Nanophysics
Jul 5, 2024
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In support of the development of large-scale superconducting quantum computers, researchers with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), one of the largest public research organizations ...
Superconductivity
Jun 3, 2024
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Safe and high-quality fertility preservation is of growing significance for women in clinical trials. Current primary methods for cryopreserving human oocytes are slow freezing and vitrification, but existing techniques pose ...
Bio & Medicine
May 15, 2024
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By modifying a refrigerator commonly used in both research and industry, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have drastically reduced the time and energy required to cool materials to ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 23, 2024
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For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or –273.15°C). That's because the quantum phenomena that grant ...
Quantum Physics
Mar 28, 2024
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1091
Researchers from the UAB and the ICN2 have developed a methodology that makes it possible for the first time to observe under the microscope, in real time, what happens when glass is heated and changes to a supercooled liquid ...
Nanophysics
Jul 13, 2023
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536
A research team led by Prof. Zhao Gang from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborating with Prof. Liu Huilan from the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, has ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 7, 2022
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96
More than 2 billion people worldwide are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, many who live in resource-limited countries haven't been able to get vaccines, partly because these areas lack temperature-controlled shipping ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 22, 2021
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