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Cryogenics is the branch of physics that deals with the production and effects of very low temperatures. The Large Hadron Collider (/about/accelerators/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 (/about/engineering/pulling-together-superconducting-
electromagnets) 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.
Superconductivity could not happen without the use of cryogenic systems. The coils' niobium-titanium (NbTi) wires must be kept at low temperatures to reach a
superconducting state. The LHC's superconducting magnets are therefore maintained at 1.9 K (-271.3°C) by a closed liquid-helium circuit.
Cryogenic techniques essentially serve to cool the superconducting magnets. In particle detectors they are also used to keep heavy gases such as argon or
krypton in a liquid state, for detecting particles in calorimeters, for example.
The entire cooling process takes weeks to complete. It consists of three different stages. During the first stage, helium is cooled to 80 K and then to 4.5 K. It is
injected into the cold masses of the magnets in a second stage, before being cooled to a temperature of 1.9 K in the third and final stage.
During the first stage, some 10,000 tonnes of liquid nitrogen are used in heat exchangers in the refrigerating equipment to bring the temperature of the helium
down to 80 K.
The helium is then cooled to 4.5 K (-268.7°C) using turbines. Once the magnets have been filled, the 1.8 K refrigeration units bring the temperature down yet
further to 1.9 K (-271.3°C).
In total, the cryogenics system cools some 36,000 tonnes of magnet cold masses.
https://home.cern/science/engineering/cryogenics-low-temperatures-high-performance 1/2