X-Message-Number: 18706
From: "Peter Christiansen" <>
Subject: The Cold Facts - Encarta
(http://encarta.msn.com/column/coldcryogenics.asp)
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 09:03:29 -0800
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> Columns March 5
More Columns
The Cold Facts
Cryogenics is the coolest
When substances get below -150 degrees Celsius,
they're said to be at "cryogenic" temperatures.
This isn't something that can happen, say,
inside your freezer--or even in Antarctica. It
takes the wonders of science to get something
really, really cold. A couple of years ago,
scientists in England managed to cool gas inside
a glass cell so that it was just a hair over
absolute zero. To find out how they did it,
check out this article.
When substances are cooled to cryogenic
temperatures, surprising things happen. Mercury,
the liquid that's inside thermometers, hardens
to a solid. Rubber shatters like glass, as does
steel. Besides just being destructive, though,
this behavior can be scientifically useful. For
example, a ring of metal that has been zapped
with an electric current can continue to conduct
electricity for hours if it has been
super-cooled. Although there isn't yet a
practical application, scientists have looked
into creating super-cold memory modules for
computers.
While this doesn't sound all that great to me
right now, as I struggle to type in the freezing
air in my office, I'm in favor of anything that
makes computers even cooler than they already
are. (Forgive that pun. It was a byproduct of
brain freeze.)
Want to Learn More?
Want to find out how something can be cooled to
cryogenic temperatures? Encarta knows.
Learn about the causes and symptoms of
hypothermia from the BBC.
Check out these useful tips on how to treat
hypothermia.
Like rubber, human beings generally don't fare
all that well when they freeze. Hypothermia is
the scientific term for low body temperature.
When you get really cold, your body stops
sending blood to its extremities. This is why
the photographer's nose got frostbite: His body
was working on keeping more important parts
warm.
Hypothermia isn't always bad, though. Sometimes
doctors want to reduce your temperature to help
with certain surgical procedures and to slow
bleeding. And in some cases, children who are
deprived of oxygen while they're in very cold
places have recovered without brain damage.
In the most extreme example of a beneficial kind
of cold, some people believe that cryogenic
temperatures are the key to immortality.
Next>Is Walt Disney frozen? The quest for
immortality
Contents:
a.. The cold facts
b.. How temperature is measured and what it
means
c.. Cryogenics is the coolest
d.. Is Walt Disney frozen? The quest for
immortality
> Worth a click:
Learn about how scientists create the coldest
temperatures anywhere
More about cryogenics
The causes and symptoms of hypothermia
How to treat hypothermia
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