A flexible cryostat for HL-LHC's new superconducting link

Colloquially known as the “python”, the flexible, double-wall, corrugated cryostat comprises 19 MgB2 superconducting cables in a single assembly, twisted together to form a compact bundle. Each MgB2 cable is about 140 metres long with the diameter of the bundle about 90 mm. These 19 superconducting cables can transfer altogether a DC current of about 120 kA at 25 K (-248 °C) – a temperature higher than that at which conventional superconductors operate. In the LHC, Nb-Ti and Nb3Sn cables are operated in superfluid helium at 1.9 Kelvin ( 271.3°C) – a temperature colder than the 2.7 K (-270.5°C) of outer space. The MgB2 cables of the Superconducting Link are cooled by a forced flow of helium gas.