Components & Hardware
Thermal Shield
Actively-cooled panels intercepting heat before it reaches the magnets.
- Role
- Radiant-heat interception
Between cryostat and cold mass, actively-cooled thermal-shield panels intercept radiant heat, cutting the load the cryoplant must remove at the coldest temperature.
Common questions
What is the thermal shield?
An actively-cooled shield inside the cryostat, with multi-layer insulation, that intercepts thermal radiation before it reaches the cold magnets — cutting the heat load the cryoplant must remove.
Why does intercepting heat matter so much?
Because heat removed at cryogenic temperature is expensive. Every watt the thermal shield stops at an intermediate temperature is a watt the costly cold refrigerator does not have to lift.