A recent report underscores the importance of energy consumption and cost to decisions about future large-scale particle accelerator projects.
accelerator
Construction may now begin on the PIP-II Linac Complex. The tunnel and building will house the new linear particle accelerator that will power the physics programs and neutrino research at Fermilab for the coming decades.
Always looking for a new trail to ride his bike on or an opportunity to catch a live show in town, Sajid Ali Syed is a research associate in the Computational Science and AI Directorate for high-energy physics applications at Fermilab.
From SLAC, August 31, 2022: Fermilab researchers worked with a team of 20 operators and engineers at SLAC on cryogenics to build a helium-refrigeration plant to lower the LCLS-II accelerator to superconducting temperatures. Now, it only takes one and a half hours to make a superconducting particle accelerator at SLAC colder than outer space.
Senior engineering students designed a portable cleanroom and a modular cryomodule mockup for Fermilab’s new accelerator complex upgrade project.
The Department of Energy has formally approved the start of full construction for the PIP-II project, an upgrade to the Fermilab accelerator complex that includes a new linear accelerator. PIP-II is an essential enhancement that will power the world’s most intense high-energy neutrino beam. It is the first particle accelerator built in the United States with significant contributions from international partners.
From The Big Think, January 6, 2022: Particle physics needs a new collider to supersede the Large Hadron Collider. Muons, not electrons or protons, might hold the key.
Large, powerful magnets are a vital component of particle accelerators. The general rule is, the stronger the magnetic field, the better. For many particle accelerator applications, it is as important how fast a magnet can reach its peak strength and then ramp down again. A team at Fermilab now has achieved the world’s fastest ramping rates for accelerator magnets using high-temperature superconductors.
From Popular Science, November 24, 2021: The Popular Science writing staff compiled short stories of fun and interesting science stories they have covered. Included in this quirky series is the story of how Felicia the ferret helped clean accelerator tubes at Fermilab and the 2006 raccoon invasion in the Linac gallery.
From PBS, October 6, 9:00 pm CT: Tune in to the PBS premiere of Particles Unknown-the hunt for the universe’s most common yet elusive particle, this Wednesday on your local PBS channel. Starting with Ray Davis’ quest for neutrinos that began in 1965, Nova explores Fermilab’s search for sterile neutrinos and interviews Sam Zeller and Angela Fava from the Neutrino Division. Check your local PBS station programming to confirm the date and time of Particles Unknown.