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Cryogenics Researcher

Studies materials and processes at extremely low temperatures — near absolute zero (-273°C).

Did you know?

At temperatures near absolute zero, helium becomes a "superfluid" that can climb walls and flow without friction

How subjects help

• Physics: Study how some metals carry electricity with no resistance when cooled to extreme cold.
• Chemistry: Handle liquid nitrogen and helium safely and see how materials change when frozen.
• Mathematics: Calculate how much heat leaks into a container so it stays cold for as long as possible.
• Engineering: Design insulated tanks and fridges that keep things close to absolute zero.

A famous name

James Dewar: Invented the vacuum flask in 1892 while researching extremely cold liquefied gases.

Try it yourself: Design a box that keeps ice frozen

1. Plan how to wrap or fill your box so heat cannot get in. Think about layers and gaps.
2. Build your insulated box, tearing paper and foil by hand. Put one ice cube on a saucer inside it and close it up.
3. Put the second ice cube on a saucer next to the box, with nothing around it. This is your comparison.
4. After an hour, open the box and compare the two cubes. Then change one thing in your design and test again.

HVAC technicians, boilermakers and cryogenics researchers choose and fit insulation so heat stays where it should: keeping a building warm, a boiler hot or a super-cold tank cold.

Adapted from DiscoverE: Keep a Cube.

Also try: Stretch test: which material bounces back?.

Known for it in

USA, UK, Germany, Japan, Switzerland

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