CRYOGENIC PROCESSOR
A Cryogenic processor is a unit designed to reach ultra-low temperatures (usually around -300°F / -150°C) at a slow rate in order to prevent thermal shock to the components being treated. The first commercial unit was developed by Ed Busch in the late 1960s and was later perfected by Peter Paulin who founded 300 Below. Mr. Paulin, previously a learjet pilot for Medivac, was featured on the Discovery Channel along with his company after he married the computer to the cryogenic process. This conversion of cryogenic processors to utilize computer technology successfully allowed for the mainstream adoption of cryogenics.
Before computers were added to control cryogenic processors, the “treatment” process of an object was previously done manually by immersing the object in liquid nitrogen. This normally caused thermal shock to occur within an object, resulting in cracks to the structure. Modern cryogenic processors measure changes in temperature down to fractions of a degree and adjust the input of liquid nitrogen accordingly to ensure that only small fractional changes in temperature occur over a long period of time. Their temperature measurements and adjustments are condensed into “profiles” that are used to repeat the process in a certain way when treating for similarly grouped objects.
The general processing cycle for modern cryogenic processors occurs within a three day time window, with 24 hours to reach the optimal bottom temperature for a product, 24 hours to hold at the bottom temperature, and 24 hours to return to room temperature.