BATAVIA, Ill.–Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will offer several guided tours on Sunday afternoon, May 4. The two-hour tours will take visitors from the viewing area of Fermilab’s Wilson Hall to the Linear Accelerator complex at Fermilab. Scientists will be on hand to answer questions, and refreshments will be served.
Physicists use the 500-foot-long Linear Accelerator to accelerate charged particles to about 70 percent of the speed of light. The machine is the first in a chain of accelerators that eventually brings protons to the highest energy achieved by any accelerator in the world. Visitors will see the Main Control Room where operators monitor and control more than 40,000 devices involved. Scientists use the high-energy particles to recreate conditions similar to those that existed right after the Big Bang, the beginning of the universe.
The first two-hour tour begins on Sunday, May 4, at 1 p.m., and additional tours leave every half hour. The tours are free of charge. Participation is limited. Visitors need to call Nancy Lanning at 630-840-5588 during business hours to register. The minimum age for participation is 10 years.
Fermilab is a national laboratory funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy, operated by Universities Research Association, Inc.