Intel’s New Quantum Control Chip | ProtoDune Test Success | Airbus bets on Hydrogen | Hydrogen-Fueled Ships | Russia Rolls Out Helium | Cryo Drops for New Year’s Eve | Freezing Cannabinoids
INTEL DEBUTS 2ND-GEN HORSE RIDGE CRYOGENIC QUANTUM CONTROL CHIP
12/2/2020
In early quantum computers, the chip was cryogenically chilled, but the many cables attached to it were not. This design does not scale, in part because of the amount of heat generated by the wiring. “We believe that increasing the number of qubits without addressing the resulting wiring complexities is akin to owning a sports car, but constantly being stuck in traffic,” said Jim Clarke, Intel Director of Quantum Hardware. The Horse Ridge II is Intel’s answer: a cryogenic control chip that simplifies the wiring and moves more functions into the dilution refrigerator. read more via HPC Wire
DUNE publishes first physics results from prototype detector
12/4/2020
A prototype neutron detector, ProtoDune, has performed better than expected. The detector has 15,360 detector channels inside an enormous tank of liquid argon, 99% of those channels are working as intended during tests. Accurately measuring neutrinos will help physicists answer questions about subatomic particles. The DUNE project plans to scale up the detector design, with the final project requiring tanks that can hold 17,000 tons of liquid argon. read more via Fermilab
Airbus bets on hydrogen to deliver zero-emission jets
12/4/2020
Hydrogen is looking like the best clean fuel for airflight. Batteries with enough electricity for a long-haul flight would be too heavy. Airbus has given itself five years to develop hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft. Since aircraft will need a greater volume of hydrogen than they do current fuels, engineers are considering new designs to fit in the hydrogen tanks. read more via Tampa Bay Times
Fleets of hydrogen-fueled passenger ships planned
12/4/2020
Norway plans to have liquid-hydrogen-fueled car ferries in 2021, and they expect to have a fleet of hydrogen ferries in the future. To reach this goal, hydrogen fuel bunkering (maritime fuel system) infrastructure and technology will need to be developed. Liquid hydrogen is considered a good choice for short journeys. For longer voyages, hydrogen may be used as the feed stock for other types of fuels such as liquid synthetic, ammonia or ethanol.read more via Riviera
Big Push Into Helium Could Have the World on Russia’s String
12/8/2020
Helium is a vital resource, irreplacable and finite in the natural world. Russia has some of the largest untapped sources of helium. Next year, a new complex of factories will export cryogenic dewars of liquid helium, potentially changing the world helium market. read more via The New York Times
Hop Valley Brewing Co. offers to obliterate 2020 objects with Cryo Drops
12/8/2020
Forget dropping the ball on New Year’s Eve. Hop Valley Brewing Co. will dunk items from 2020 in liquid nitrogen and then smash them to pieces to destroy the bad vibes. They call it “Cryo Drops.” The brewery will use the same processes it uses to cryogenically freeze the hops for their Cryo Hops IPA. Customers will send the items in prepaid packages, on New Year’s Eve they can watch the smashing on live stream. read more via The Register Guard
Cryogenic freezing of cannabinoids under study in USA
12/10/2020
ryogenic technology may be beneficial at multiple points in processing industrial hemp. The University of Virginia and Air Products are researching the effects of freezing on the cannabinoids in the hemp. They hope to replicate the improvements cryogenics has made in other industries. Cryogenic techniques are being assessed at multiple stages in hemp processing, from flash-freezing at harvest to blanketing the the final product in liquid nitrogen to extend shelf-life. ead more via Hemp Today
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