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CERN EUROPEAN SYNCHROTRON
AS SCIENTISTS prepare to switch on CERN’s Large
Hadron Collider and probe the mysteries of the
universe, this article from the archives provides a
fascinating insight into the origins of the world’s
most significant particle physics experiment.
It looks at the first annual report of CERN,
otherwise known as the European Organisation for
Nuclear Research, and details the development of
the two accelerators that paved the way for the
astonishing instrument we see today.
‘The main installation will consist of two
accelerators for research on high energy particles,’
said The Engineer. ‘One of these is a 600MeV
synchro-cyclotron…the second is a 25GeV proton
synchrotron.’
Describing the operation of the proton synchrotron, the article refers to ‘a
machine for accelerating positively charged particles by causing them to describe a
circular path in such a way that during each circuit the particles receive one or
more high frequency energy pulses. The particles are thus accelerated with each
78
THIS WEEK IN… 1956
PRIZE CROSSWORD For The Engineer Brainteaser subscribe to our email newsletter at www.theengineer.co.uk
When completed rearrange the highlighted squares to spell out a cutting tool.
The first correct answer received will win a £20 Amazon voucher.
Email your answer to jon.excell@centaur.co.uk
Across
1 Remove impurities from (6)
4 Put in motion (8)
10 German physicist born in 1929 (9)
11 Diminish gradually (5)
12 Synthetic silklike fabric (5)
13 Branch of social science (9)
14 Removal of ore from close to the surface (8, 6)
18 Quality of being without sharp outlines (14)
20 Old type of computer printer (3, 6)
22 Equip with new parts (5)
24 Formal or authoritative proclamation (5)
25 Wave formed along a narrow estuary (5, 4)
26 Code of letters and digits added to a postal address (8)
27 Hydrated calcium sulphate (6)
Down
1 Medicinal area at a spa (4, 4)
2 Covered in corrosion (5)
3 Series of increasing numbers (9)
5 Odourless very poisonous gas (6, 8)
6 Formally making a person known to another (5)
7 Durable goods for home or office use (9)
8 Becoming visible (6)
9 Being more concentrated than normally possible (14)
15 Exceptional intellectuals (9)
16 As might be expected (9)
17 Line connecting points having the same temperature (8)
19 Push one’s way into (4, 2)
21 Ancient Mexican engineer (5)
23 Falls loosely (5)
circuit of the circular path until they attain the
required energy level, when they may be
constrained to strike a suitable target.’
The key to this was the magnet. Rather than
a continuous ring that had been used in smaller,
less powerful synchrotrons, it was made up of
‘a number of sections separated by RF
accelerating cavities and focusing lenses.’ This,
wrote the magazine, would enable the particles
to receive a series of accelerating impulses in
each circuit rather than only one.
This system led to a series of immense
engineering challenges, not least in the
design of the foundations of the magnet system,
‘the structure as a whole should be insensitive
to temperature changes and ground
movements. The diameter of the magnet ring is 200m and the load to be carried is
made up mainly of the magnet iron (3,200 tons) and the coils (220 tons for copper,
110 tons for aluminium).’
Jon Excell
Last issue’s solution
Across: Across: 1 Attested, 6
Sate, 8 Curaçao, 9 Shackle, 11
Master of Science, 12 Unit, 13
Instrument, 17 Anemometer, 18
Dado, 20 Insurance policy, 23
Naphtha, 24 Auspice, 25 Hasp,
The solution to the Prize Crossword will appear in the next
issue of The Engineer. Last issue’s winner is Max Ingram, who
wins a £20 Amazon voucher.
26 Inklings. Down: 2 Turnstile,
3 Exceed, 4 Troy ounce, 5 Dusts,
6 Spacious, 7 Token, 8 Computation,
10 Electrolyte, 14 Theme
park, 15 Examining, 16 Doorstep,
19 Bonsai, 21 Sepia, 22 NAAFI.
Highlighted solution: HANDSPIKE
the EnGIneeR 18–31 AUGUST 2008
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