GC: n

CT: Cryogenics is the branch of physics that deals with the production and effects of very low temperatures. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest cryogenic system in the world and one of the coldest places on Earth. All of the magnets on the LHC are electromagnets – magnets in which the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current. The LHC’s main magnets operate at a temperature of 1.9 K (-271.3°C), colder than the 2.7 K (-270.5°C) of outer space.
The LHC’s cryogenic system requires 40,000 leak-tight pipe seals, 40 MW of electricity – 10 times more than is needed to power a locomotive – and 120 tonnes of helium to keep the magnets at 1.9 K.

S: CERN – https://home.cern/about/engineering/cryogenics-low-temperatures-high-performance (last access: 11 March 2017)

N: 1. The word cryogenics literally means “the production of icy cold.” The term, however, is mainly used as a synonym for the low-temperature state. It is not well-defined at what point on the temperature scale refrigeration ends and cryogenics begins. A number of researchers define cryogenic temperatures as those ranging from -150 °C (123 K or -238 °F) down to -273.15 °C (0 K or -460 °F).
cryogenic (adj): 1902, from cryogen “freezing mixture” (1875), from cryo- “freezing” + -genic “having to do with production” (see genus). Related: Cryogenics (1958).
2. The branch of physics that studies the phenomena that occur at very low temperatures.
3. The cryogenic temperature range has been defined as from −150 °C (−238 °F) to absolute zero (−273 °C or −460 °F), the temperature at which molecular motion comes as close as theoretically possible to ceasing completely. Cryogenic temperatures are usually described in the absolute or Kelvin scale, in which absolute zero is written as 0 K, without a degree sign. Conversion from the Celsius to the Kelvin scale can be done by adding 273 to the Celsius scale.
4. Cryogenic temperatures are considerably lower than those encountered in ordinary physical processes.

S: 1. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Cryogenics (last access: 11 March 2017); OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cryogenic (last access: 11 March 2017). 2. TERMIUM PLUS – http://goo.gl/ql1ZCr (last access: 11 March 2017). 3 & 4. EncBrit – https://global.britannica.com/science/cryogenics (last access: 11 March 2017).

SYN: cryogeny (obsolete)

S: TERMIUM PLUS – http://goo.gl/ql1ZCr (last access: 11 March 2017)

CR: cryopreservation