PartagerCryogenics and Low-Temperature Physics: New Horizons and Challenges
This Focus written by Ralf Herzog*, President of the IIR’s Cryophysics, Cryoengineering commission (Commission A1) for the Newsletter of the IIR is the third in a series of presentations of the activities and hot research topics handled by the IIR’s commissions and working parties.
This Focus written by Ralf Herzog*, President of the IIR’s Cryophysics, Cryoengineering commission (Commission A1) for the IIR Newsletter is the third in a series of presentations of the activities and hot research topics handled by the IIR’s commissions and working parties. *http://www.iifiir.org/medias/medias.aspx?INSTANCE=EXPLOITATION&PORTAL_ID=portal_model_instance__iif_commission_a1_en.xml
? Low temperature physics describes the exciting cold world of matter at very low temperatures up to close to the thermodynamic zero point (–273.15°C).
Rapid change of material properties and new interactions at low temperatures, condensation of matter, superconductivity and superfluidity, cold effects in semiconductors, freezing effects in biological tissue and biochemical solutions emerge only at low temperatures.
? Discovering and utilizing low-temperature effects is the key to new cryogenic applications in a wide field of very different technologies. Advanced cryogenic technologies are currently being developed in correlation to the main global challenges such as energy saving, energy recovery, energy storage, CO2 recovery, fuels and mobility, life science, medicine and biology, space exploration, particle physics and fusion.
These global challenges are new horizons for sustainable innovations in Cryogenics.
Special adapted cryogenic cooling systems must be developed. Efficiency in performance and costs, reliable and safe refrigerating technologies are required. Some examples:
? applied superconductivity in particular new HTC-superconductor applications for power and grid are one of the most promising future technologies within the framework of the global energy turnaround.
Electrical components such as fault-current limiters and power transmission cables with corresponding peripheral cryogenic cooling systems are under development. Special non-metallic-LN2-cryostats for inductive devices have been designed and tested under quench simulation successfully.
? advanced cryogenic compressed hydrogen storage is a new way to use hydrogen as a fuel. Cryogenic storage of hydrogen in the supercritical state, at low temperatures and high pressure up to 100 MPa, is a very promising and technically extremely challenging approach for significant enhanced energy storage capacities.
? cold electronics and low noise cryogenic cooling are scientific and technological targets as well. Low-temperature effects in silicon are used for impurity control and radiation hardness detectors. SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices) are cooled with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium using innovative glass-reinforced plastic cryostats with extremely low magnetic noise.
? milli-Kelvin refrigerators with innovative 3He-4He dilution cycles for a stable, low-noise operation of electronic devices are required in space and ground-based astrophysics and high sensitive scanning technologies. Small and tiltable dilution refrigerators with cryogenic-free pre-cooling for temperatures up to 50 mK are under development (see photo).
? applied cryophysics for medicine and biology is currently one of the most upcoming research fields. Cryobiological research with focus on cryopreservation of tissue-engineered cell compounds, cryoprocessing of regenerative biomaterials and freezing therapeutic proteins are carried out. There are a variety of novel cryogenic approaches in the fields of tissue-banking, pharmaceutics and biomaterials.
? Goals and challenges in cryogenics and applied low-temperature physics require international co-operation. The IIR supports this global exchange. The 12th Cryogenics 2012 IIR International Conference, September 11-14, 2012 will take place for first time in Dresden, my home town. It would be a pleasure for me to welcome you to the Cryogenics 2012 Conference: www.icaris.cz/conf/Cryogenics2012
Ralf Herzog,
Managing Director of ILK Dresden
? Low temperature physics describes the exciting cold world of matter at very low temperatures up to close to the thermodynamic zero point (–273.15°C).
Rapid change of material properties and new interactions at low temperatures, condensation of matter, superconductivity and superfluidity, cold effects in semiconductors, freezing effects in biological tissue and biochemical solutions emerge only at low temperatures.
? Discovering and utilizing low-temperature effects is the key to new cryogenic applications in a wide field of very different technologies. Advanced cryogenic technologies are currently being developed in correlation to the main global challenges such as energy saving, energy recovery, energy storage, CO2 recovery, fuels and mobility, life science, medicine and biology, space exploration, particle physics and fusion.
These global challenges are new horizons for sustainable innovations in Cryogenics.
Special adapted cryogenic cooling systems must be developed. Efficiency in performance and costs, reliable and safe refrigerating technologies are required. Some examples:
? applied superconductivity in particular new HTC-superconductor applications for power and grid are one of the most promising future technologies within the framework of the global energy turnaround.
Electrical components such as fault-current limiters and power transmission cables with corresponding peripheral cryogenic cooling systems are under development. Special non-metallic-LN2-cryostats for inductive devices have been designed and tested under quench simulation successfully.
? advanced cryogenic compressed hydrogen storage is a new way to use hydrogen as a fuel. Cryogenic storage of hydrogen in the supercritical state, at low temperatures and high pressure up to 100 MPa, is a very promising and technically extremely challenging approach for significant enhanced energy storage capacities.
? cold electronics and low noise cryogenic cooling are scientific and technological targets as well. Low-temperature effects in silicon are used for impurity control and radiation hardness detectors. SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices) are cooled with liquid nitrogen or liquid helium using innovative glass-reinforced plastic cryostats with extremely low magnetic noise.
? milli-Kelvin refrigerators with innovative 3He-4He dilution cycles for a stable, low-noise operation of electronic devices are required in space and ground-based astrophysics and high sensitive scanning technologies. Small and tiltable dilution refrigerators with cryogenic-free pre-cooling for temperatures up to 50 mK are under development (see photo).
? applied cryophysics for medicine and biology is currently one of the most upcoming research fields. Cryobiological research with focus on cryopreservation of tissue-engineered cell compounds, cryoprocessing of regenerative biomaterials and freezing therapeutic proteins are carried out. There are a variety of novel cryogenic approaches in the fields of tissue-banking, pharmaceutics and biomaterials.
? Goals and challenges in cryogenics and applied low-temperature physics require international co-operation. The IIR supports this global exchange. The 12th Cryogenics 2012 IIR International Conference, September 11-14, 2012 will take place for first time in Dresden, my home town. It would be a pleasure for me to welcome you to the Cryogenics 2012 Conference: www.icaris.cz/conf/Cryogenics2012
Ralf Herzog,
Managing Director of ILK Dresden