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Let's begin with a couple of definitions. Cryogenics is described by the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia as the "study and use of low-temperature phenomena... Applications of cryogenics include the storage and transport of liquefied gases, food preservation, cryosurgery, rocket fuels, and superconducting electromagnets." We're talking about a range of temperatures from -238°F (-150°C) to absolute zero -- colder than cold. Cryonics is the experimental application of cryogenic principles to freeze and preserve recently
deceased humans. The hope is that they may be revived in the future through new, as yet undiscovered, medical technologies. The body of deceased baseball great Ted Williams currently lies in a frozen state of "suspended animation" at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation cryonics facility in Arizona. The controversy surrounding Williams' last wishes and the uncertain fate of his remains have been in the news since Williams died on July 5, 2002, at age 83. Coverage of cryonics has proliferated in the media. Meanwhile, Williams' frozen body is suspended, upside-down in a titanium steel cylinder, along with
several other heads and bodies, according to a recent article in the New York Times. On the Alcor web site, we learned liquid nitrogen is used to cool the remains in order to preserve DNA and cell structure, in the hope that future medical advances will be able to cure mortal diseases and reanimate individuals whose bodies have been preserved. Over 100 people have been cryonically suspended since the process was first attempted in 1967. You'll find abundant information about the technologies and costs associated with cryonics on the Alcor site -- there's even an article describing a "Realistic" Scenario for Nanotechnological Repair of the Frozen Human
Brain. Cryonics is still considered a fringe phenomenon by the scientific establishment, and no one has figured out how to thaw a human being without damaging tissues. In contrast, cryogenic tempering is used widely and effectively in a variety of industries -- for manufacturing metal tools, machine parts, firearms, aerospace equipment, even golf club heads.
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