WEBVTT

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[dramatic percussion music]

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- HEY, WELCOME
TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."

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I'M YOUR HOST, VINCE WHITFIELD.

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YOU REMEMBER US TALKING
ABOUT CRYOGENICS

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WITH AEROSPACE ENGINEER
ROB BOYLE

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HERE ON "LAUNCHPAD," RIGHT?

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ON THAT EPISODE, WE FOCUSED
ON THE USE OF CRYOGENICS

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IN TRANSPORT SYSTEMS.

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BUT ROB WANTED US
TO LET YOU KNOW

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THAT HIS PRIMARY AREA OF FOCUS

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HAS BEEN IN A DIFFERENT AREA
OF CRYOGENICS.

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- MOST OF THE WORK
I'VE DONE HERE AT GODDARD

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HAS BEEN THE USE OF CRYOGENICS
FOR EARTH SCIENCE

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AND SPACE SCIENCE APPLICATIONS.

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DETECTORS THAT WE USE
FOR LOOKING AT THE WORLD,

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PARTICULARLY
IN THE INFRARED WAVELENGTHS,

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NEED TO BE OPERATED COLD,

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LIQUID NITROGEN TEMPERATURE
AND BELOW.

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AT THOSE TEMPERATURES,
THEY HAVE HIGHER SENSITIVITY,

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LOWER NOISE, AND THEY DON'T
SUFFER FROM THE GLOW

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THAT YOU WOULD HAVE
FROM THE THERMAL BACKGROUND.

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YOU CAN SORT OF IMAGINE
SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN STUCK

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IN A FIRE GLOWING RED-HOT.

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WELL, IT TURNS OUT
THAT EVERYTHING IS GLOWING.

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YOUR EYES AREN'T SENSITIVE
TO THE LONGER WAVELENGTHS

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THAT YOU GET
FROM ROOM TEMPERATURE OBJECTS

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OR EVEN OBJECTS THAT ARE BELOW
ROOM TEMPERATURE.

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BUT THEY'RE STILL GLOWING,

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AND THEY GET IN THE WAY
OF THE SCIENCE.

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- SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT CRYOGENICS,

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WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
REALLY COLD TEMPERATURES.

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BUT HOW COLD
ARE WE REALLY TALKING?

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I MEAN, I GET CHILLS WHEN IT'S
13 DEGREES CELSIUS OUTSIDE.

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THAT'S 55 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

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HERE'S ROB AGAIN TO HELP
PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE.

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- IN TRYING TO EXPLAIN
TO MY KIDS

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WHAT IT IS
THAT I'M DOING AT WORK,

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I TALK ABOUT THE TEMPERATURES
THAT WE'RE OPERATING AT

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AND THAT IT'S NOT ONLY COLD,
BUT IT'S REALLY, REALLY COLD,

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THAT THE HARDWARE THAT WE RUN
WOULD NOT ONLY BE COLDER

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THAN THE NORTH POLE.

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IT WOULD FREEZE THE AIR
AT THE NORTH POLE.

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THE GASES THAT WE HAVE
AT ROOM TEMPERATURE,

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IF YOU START TO COOL THEM DOWN,

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THE MOLECULES IN THOSE GASES
MOVE MORE AND MORE SLOWLY

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UNTIL AT A TEMPERATURE THAT
WE REFER TO AS ABSOLUTE ZERO.

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THE ATOMS IN THE GAS
STOP MOVING.

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AS THE GAS GETS COLDER
AND COLDER, IT CONDENSES.

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AND WHAT WE SEE AT TEMPERATURES
THAT ARE 70 OR 80 KELVIN

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IS OXYGEN BECOMING A LIQUID
AT 77 KELVIN,

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LIQUID NITROGEN STARTING
TO FORM.

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AND AT TEMPERATURES
DOWN AROUND 25 KELVIN,

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WE HAVE LIQUID HYDROGEN.

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THE VERY LOWEST TEMPERATURE
LIQUID, LIQUID HELIUM,

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WASN'T ACTUALLY PRODUCED
UNTIL 1905, THEREABOUTS,

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AND WAS A MAJOR TRIUMPH
OF SCIENCE

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TO BE ABLE TO GET SOMETHING
THAT LOW IN TEMPERATURE.

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THE ABSOLUTE TEMPERATURE SCALE
IS SOMETHING THAT HELPS US

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UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON
WITH THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES

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THAT WE'RE WORKING ON

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AND HAS PROVIDED
A VERY GOOD MODEL

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FOR HOW THE MOTION
OF THE INDIVIDUAL ATOMS

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AFFECTS THE GLOBAL PROPERTIES
OF THE MATERIALS.

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- BRR.

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GIVES ME CHILLS
JUST THINKING ABOUT IT.

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ROB WAS TALKING
ABOUT THE KELVIN SCALE.

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NOW, THAT MIGHT SOUND
INTIMIDATING TO YOU,

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BUT ALL YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW

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IS THAT IT'S JUST ANOTHER UNIT
FOR MEASURING TEMPERATURE,

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JUST LIKE CELSIUS OR FAHRENHEIT.

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THE KELVIN SCALE IS BASED

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ON THE KINETIC ENERGY
OF AN OBJECT.

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KELVIN IS BASED
AROUND ABSOLUTE ZERO,

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WHICH ALSO TRANSLATES TO AROUND
NEGATIVE 273 DEGREES CELSIUS

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AND ABOUT NEGATIVE 459 DEGREES
FAHRENHEIT.

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ABSOLUTE ZERO
IS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE

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THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE

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AND CANNOT BE REACHED
BY ARTIFICIAL OR NATURAL MEANS.

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THE ONLY REAL DIFFERENCE
IS THAT KELVIN UNITS

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ARE NOT REFERRED TO
AS DEGREES.

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THEY'RE JUST KELVIN.

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A TEMPERATURE CHANGE
OF ONE KELVIN

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EQUALS A TEMPERATURE CHANGE
OF ONE DEGREE CELSIUS.

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SO THE TWO SCALES
ARE VERY SIMILAR,

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BUT THEY START
AT DIFFERENT POINTS.

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SO ANYWAY, CRYOGENICS CAN
BE USED IN SCIENCE APPLICATIONS.

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BUT WHAT ABOUT
A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE?

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- ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE
IN TEST IN THE LAB RIGHT NOW

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IS A SET OF MICROSHUTTERS

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FOR THE JAMES WEBB
SPACE TELESCOPE.

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THE MICROSHUTTERS ALLOW
SCIENTISTS TO MASK OFF

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PARTS OF A SCENE--

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IN THIS CASE, SAY,

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IT MIGHT BE A FIELD OF GALAXIES
AT VERY HIGH MAGNIFICATION

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AND VERY LONG WAVELENGTH--

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AND ALLOWS THEM TO PICK OUT
INDIVIDUAL GALAXIES IN A SCENE

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AND MEASURE THE SPECTRUM
OF LIGHT

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THAT'S COMING OFF
OF THAT INDIVIDUAL GALAXY.

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THE MICROSHUTTERS ARE SOMETHING

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THAT WERE DEVELOPED HERE
AT GODDARD

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TO ALLOW ONE OF THE JAMES WEBB
SPACE TELESCOPE INSTRUMENTS

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TO PERFORM
MULTIOPTIC SPECTROSCOPY.

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IT ALLOWS THE SPACECRAFT
TO OPERATE MORE EFFECTIVELY

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OVER ITS LIFETIME,

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DOING MUCH MORE SCIENCE
IN THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME.

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- AND AGAIN, I BET
YOU'RE PROBABLY ITCHING TO KNOW

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HOW CRYOGENICS
COULD POSSIBLY AFFECT YOU.

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WELL, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK
ANY FURTHER THAN A HOSPITAL.

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- ONE OF THE MOST
COMMON ENCOUNTERS

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BETWEEN THE AVERAGE CITIZEN
AND CRYOGENICS

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IS WHEN THEY HAVE AN INJURY.

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IF YOU HAVE A KNEE INJURY,
YOU GO IN FOR AN MRI.

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AND YOU'RE ACTUALLY SITTING

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INSIDE OF
A SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNET

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WITH A CRYOGENIC REFRIGERATOR.

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THAT VERY INTENSE MAGNETIC FIELD

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ALLOWS US TO PROBE THE STRUCTURE
OF THE BODY

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WITH SPECIAL DETECTORS
CALLED SQUIDS,

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SUPERCONDUCTING
QUANTUM INTERFERENCE DEVICES,

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THAT ARE VERY, VERY SENSITIVE

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TO MINUTE CHANGES
IN MAGNETIC FIELD.

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SO BY PULSING THE MAGNETIC FIELD
IN YOUR BODY,

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YOU CAN ACTUALLY
THEN LOOK AT THE REACTION

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OF THE INDIVIDUAL MOLECULES

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AND MAP OUT THE DISTRIBUTION
OF SOFT TISSUE

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IN YOUR KNEE
OR IN YOUR ELBOW.

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YOU CAN LOOK AT BRAIN STRUCTURE.

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YOU CAN LOOK AT BRAIN ACTIVITY

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AND UNDERSTAND A LOT OF WHAT'S
GOING ON IN THE HUMAN BODY.

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IT'S AN APPLICATION
OF CRYOGENICS

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THAT ISN'T VERY OBVIOUS.

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YOU CAN SORT OF HEAR THE NOISES
IN THE BACKGROUND

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WHEN YOU'RE SITTING
IN THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE

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BUT DON'T REALIZE THAT THERE'S
SOMETHING THAT'S AT FOUR KELVIN

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SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU.

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- JUST TO BE CLEAR,

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NASA DID NOT INVENT
MRI TECHNOLOGY.

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BUT IT HAS CONTRIBUTED
TO ITS ADVANCES OVER THE YEARS.

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THAT'S NASA FOR YOU,

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FROM PEERING WAY OUT
INTO OTHER GALAXIES

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TO HELPING PEER INTO OUR BODIES.

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THAT'S ALL THE TIME
WE'VE GOT FOR NOW.

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THANKS FOR WATCHING.

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FOR "NASA LAUNCHPAD,"
I'M VINCE WHITFIELD,

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AND WE'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME.