J-PARC

From Forbes, Feb. 17, 2021: Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln contextualizes the accomplishment of researchers working at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex, or J-PARC. They have made an atomic nucleus that contains an unstable particle called the hyperon, or cascade particle. This could help in understanding neutron stars.

From Interactions.org, Nov. 9, 2020: Large-scale accelerator facilities around the world, such as Fermilab and the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex, send near-light-speed proton beams into pieces of material called a target. The collision produces other particles, which scientists study to learn the fundamental constituents of matter. The RaDIATE collaboration has published new results on a target material made of a titanium alloy, shedding light on how different titanium materials respond to collisions by powerful proton beams.

Physicists often find thrifty, ingenious ways to reuse equipment and resources. What do you do about an 800-ton magnet originally used to discover new particles? Send it off on a months-long journey via truck, train and ship halfway across the world to detect oscillating particles called neutrinos, of course. It’s all part of the vast recycling network of the physics community.