Cryogenic engineering uses cryogenics for various applications, including liquefying gases like oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen for rocket fuels and metallurgy. It has also led to the development of refrigeration and air conditioning, changing lifestyles and influencing space technology. However, there have been accidents and risks associated with the field. A degree in cryogenic engineering is required for this well-paid profession.
Cryogenic engineering is a branch of engineering that uses cryogenics for various domestic, commercial, scientific, medical, and defense applications. Cryogenics is a branch of physics that deals with the production of very low temperatures and the effects of these temperatures on different substances and materials. The temperatures studied in cryogenics are those below -243.67 degrees Fahrenheit (120 Kelvin); such low temperatures do not occur in nature.
These low temperatures have been used to liquefy atmospheric gases such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, methane, argon, helium and neon. The gases are condensed, collected, distilled and separated. Methane is used in liquid natural gas (LNG), and oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen are used in rocket fuels, metallurgy and various chemical processes. Helium is used in underwater decompression chambers and to maintain suitably low temperatures for superconducting magnets, and neon is used in lighting.
In addition to finding ways to liquefy gases, cryogenic engineering has given the world electrical appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners and vacuum flasks. Flasks were developed as a means of storing gases in liquid form indefinitely. Air conditioning and refrigeration were invented by American John Gorrie in 1848 and further developed over the next few years by German Carl Von Linde and others. Linde produced the Linde Eismachinen, the forerunner of the modern household refrigerator.
Refrigeration has made it possible to store and ship fresh food over long distances, changing eating habits and lifestyles everywhere. The science of cryogenic engineering has also influenced the way wars are fought by producing V-2 rocket weapons and liquid fuel. This field led to research on the space technology industry and the theory of superconductivity. Independence Cryogenic Engineering, an American company, manufactures cryogenic refrigeration systems for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) systems. Advances in cryogenic engineering have affected modern life in no small measure.
However, the path has not been smooth, with some very bad accidents offsetting the positive developments in cryogenics. An example of this was an LNG tank
explosion in Cleveland, Ohio that killed 131 people in 1944. People working in cryogenic engineering also face the risks of cold burns, asphyxiation, and toxicity. It is essential to wear goggles and protective clothing.
To work in this field, you must have a bachelor’s, master’s, or more advanced degree in cryogenic engineering. Topics covered in these programs usually include superconductivity, cryogenic food processing, vacuum technology, LNG production, gas separation, gas liquefaction, and cryogenic process engineering. Job prospects for cryogenists are excellent and well paid.
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