Cryo- is from the Ancient Greek κρύος (krúos, “
ice
Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
, icy cold, chill, frost”). Uses of the prefix Cryo- include:
Physics and geology
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Cryogenics
In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
The 13th International Institute of Refrigeration's (IIR) International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington, DC in 1971) endorsed a universa ...
, the study of the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures and the study of producing extremely low temperatures
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Cryoelectronics
In electronics, cryoelectronics or cryolectronics is the study of superconductivity under cryogenic conditions and its applications. It is also described as the operation of power electronic devices at cryogenic temperatures. Practical applications ...
, the study of superconductivity under cryogenic conditions and its applications
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Cryosphere
The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there ...
, those portions of Earth's surface where water ice naturally occurs
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Cryotron
The cryotron is a switch that operates using superconductivity. The cryotron works on the principle that magnetic fields destroy superconductivity. This simple device consists of two superconducting wires (e.g. tantalum and niobium) with differe ...
, a switch that uses superconductivity
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Cryovolcano
A cryovolcano (sometimes informally referred to as an ice volcano) is a type of volcano that erupts gases and volatile material such as liquid water, ammonia, and hydrocarbons. The erupted material is collectively referred to as ''cryolava'' ...
, a theoretical type of volcano that erupts volatiles instead of molten rock
Biology and medicine
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Cryobiology
Cryobiology is the branch of biology that studies the effects of low temperatures on living things within Earth's cryosphere or in science. The word cryobiology is derived from the Greek words κρῧος ryos "cold", βίος ios "life", and λ ...
, the branch of biology that studies the effects of low temperatures on living things
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Cryonics
Cryonics (from ''kryos'', meaning "cold") is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains in the hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticism by the mainstream scien ...
, the low-temperature preservation of people who cannot be sustained by contemporary medicine
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Cryoprecipitate
Cryoprecipitate, also called cryo for short, or Cryoprecipitate Antihemophilic factor (AHF), is a frozen blood product prepared from blood plasma. To create cryoprecipitate, plasma is slowly thawed to 1–6 °C. A cold-insoluble precipita ...
, a blood-derived protein product used to treat some bleeding disorders
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Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy, sometimes known as cold therapy, is the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy. Cryotherapy can be used in many ways, including whole body exposure for therapeutic health benefits or may be used locally to treat ...
, medical treatment using cold
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Cryoablation
Cryoablation is a process that uses extreme cold to destroy tissue. Cryoablation is performed using hollow needles (cryoprobes) through which cooled, thermally conductive fluids are circulated. Cryoprobes are positioned adjacent to the target in ...
, tissue removal using cold
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Cryosurgery
Cryosurgery (with ''cryo'' from the Ancient Greek ) is the use of extreme cold in surgery to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue; thus, it is the surgical application of cryoablation.
Cryosurgery has been historically used to treat a number o ...
, surgery using cold
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Cryo-electron microscopy
Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a transmission electron microscopy technique applied to samples cooled to cryogenic temperatures. For biological specimens, the structure is preserved by embedding in an environment of vitreous ice. An ...
(cryoEM), a technique that fires beams of electrons at proteins that have been frozen in solution, to deduce the biomolecules’ structure
Other uses
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Cryo Interactive
Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video game developer, video game development and video game publisher, publishing company founded in 1990, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo. The company gai ...
, a video game company
* Cryos, a planet in the video game ''
Darkspore
''Darkspore'' is a video game that borrowed creature editing technology from ''Spore''. It was described as "a fast-paced, science fiction action role-playing game in which the player battled across alien worlds to save the galaxy from the muta ...
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See also
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Kryo
Qualcomm Kryo is a series of custom or semi-custom ARM-based CPUs included in the Snapdragon line of SoCs.
These CPUs implement the ARM 64-bit instruction set and serve as the successor to the previous 32-bit Krait CPUs. It was first introduc ...
, a brand of CPUs by Qualcomm
External links
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Cryogenics
Cryobiology
Cryonics
Superconductivity