Monday, May 20, 2013
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Monday, May 20

2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar (NOTE LOCATION) - Curia II
Speaker: Cora Dvorkin, Institute for Advanced Study
Title: Traces of Dark Matter Annihilation in the CMB

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

THERE WILL BE NO ALL EXPERIMENTERS' MEETING THIS WEEK

Tuesday, May 21

10:30 a.m.
Research Techniques Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Alexander Bolozdynya, National Research Nuclear University, Moscow
Title: Development of RED100 Liquid Xenon Emission Detector for Observation of Coherent Neutrino Scattering

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

4 p.m.
Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar (NOTE LOCATION) - Curia II
Speaker: Rami Kishek, Univeristy of Maryland
Title: Overview of the University of Maryland Electron Ring Program

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Wilson Hall Cafe

Monday, May 20

- Breakfast: apple cinnamon multi-grain pancakes
- Breakfast: Sausage, egg and cheese croissant
- Gyros
- Smart cuisine: sweet and sour apricot chicken
- Garam masala salmon with mustard sauce
- Spicy Asian chicken wrap
- Stir-fry sensations
- Spicy Thai beef noodle soup
- Texas-style chili

Wilson Hall Cafe menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, May 22
Lunch
- Salad nicoise
- Frozen blackberry chiffon pie

Friday, May 24
Dinner
- Beef en croute with coriander walnut filling
- Fennel and potato gratin
- Haricots verts with red peppers and almonds
- Coffee creme brulee

Chez Leon menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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Feature

NOvA near-detector cavern construction completed, ready for research equipment

The NOvA near-detector cavern is nearly complete. Photo: Cindy Arnold

After breaking ground in May 2012, the NOvA near-detector cavern, situated 350 feet underground, is nearly complete—ahead of schedule, no less—and has been ready to accommodate NOvA research equipment since it received beneficial occupancy on May 10.

The lab originally planned for completion in mid-June this year, said FESS engineer Russ Alber. But construction subcontractor Kiewit Infrastructure Co. has been working ahead of schedule and is now ready to turn the cavern over to Fermilab scientists and engineers.

Kiewit is finishing the last steps to cavern construction, which include building a movable walkway that slides down the length of the cavern and entry doors to the cavern.

The empty space is now ready to start taking experiment equipment.

"It's exciting for us," Alber said. "This is not a typical building with typical construction techniques, so we're glad to have completed this one ahead of schedule."

Without all the clutter from building materials, the 75-foot-long cavern seems, well, cavernous.

But it won't be empty for long. Scientists will soon install networking and computing components to process neutrino data once the detector is up and running, said near-detector project manager Ting Miao.

Next month, the team will also begin assembling and installing the near detector's muon catcher and eight PVC detector blocks, using a crane to lower them down the MINOS tunnel and a special transportation cart to position them inside the cavern.

Once installed, the blocks, readout and control electronics and around 700 sensors needed to start taking neutrino data will leave little wiggle room in the cavern, Miao said.

"It will be quite a challenge transferring the detector through the tunnel access shaft and installing it in the detector hall," Miao said. "It's definitely exciting, and many unknowns still lie ahead of us."

Additionally, the lab is working to restore the nearby aboveground areas to their original state, Alber said.

"Although we're running on a tight schedule, I'm amazed every day by how quickly things are moving along," Miao said.

Sarah Khan

From symmetry

The cherry pie collider

What's the next step in particle colliders? Symmetry takes a trip into the kitchen pantry to find out. Image: Sandbox Studio

Already celebrated for bringing the world news of the Higgs boson, the Large Hadron Collider is only beginning its long journey of discoveries. Yet scientists are already planning the next big machine, the International Linear Collider, to study the LHC's discoveries in more detail.

So what's the difference between the LHC and the proposed ILC? Why do we need both?

For one thing, the ILC would accelerate particles along a straight line some 30 kilometers long while the LHC accelerates them along a circular path 27 kilometers in circumference. But that just skims the surface of their differences.

The two types of machine provide very different types of information because they collide different kinds of particles. The LHC collides protons, which themselves are made up of quarks and gluons. The ILC, in contrast, would collide electrons and positrons, point-like particles that have no known internal structure. Proton collisions are messy, allowing scientists to discover new particles and new processes, while linear-collider experiments are cleaner, allow scientists to explore these new particles and new processes without the complicated debris present at the LHC.

Not clear? Maybe this image helps. The protons in the LHC aren't just single particles; they are each made of a list of ingredients (up quarks, a down quark and gluons). Think of them as cherry pies, which are made up of eggs, flour, sugar, butter and, of course, cherries. When you smash two pies into each other you end up with a lot of fascinating goo. However, you can imagine how many times you would have to smash two pies into each other before you get precisely the same goo as in your first collisions, or before you see a collision where the two stray cherry pits in each pie collided—many, many times. That's why the LHC produces the mind-boggling number of collisions that it does.

Read more

Barbara Warmbein

Tip of the Week: Safety

May is Electrical Safety Month

For the sake of home electrical safety, consider having arc fault circuit interrupters installed. These instruments can detect arcing in a home's electrical wiring that could result from, for example, a misplaced screw piercing the wiring, which may not trip a normal circuit breaker. Upon detection, the interrupters will turn off power to the circuit, preventing a fire.

May is Electrical Safety Month, and this year Fermilab's Electrical Safety Subcommittee would like to make you aware of two places online where you can learn more about how to be safe around electrical equipment.

The first is the Fermilab ES&H Manual (FESHM) chapters dealing with electrical safety. They can be found on the ESH&Q FESHM Web page under the 5000-series chapters (Occupational Safety and Health). The electrical chapters are FESHM 5040 through 5048 and 5120. In these chapters you will find guidelines for all aspects of working safely with electrical equipment. The chapters are as follows:

5040: Fermilab Electrical Safety Program
5041: Electrical Utilization Equipment Safety
5042: AC Electrical Power Distribution Safety
5043: Management and Use of Cable Tray Systems
5044: Protection against Exposed Electrical Bus
5045: High-Voltage Coaxial Detectors
5046: Low-Voltage, High-Current Power Distribution Systems
5047: Interruptible and Uninterruptible AC Power Backup Systems
5048: Hazard Mitigation for Electrical Workers
5120: Fermilab Energy Control Program

Second, we'd like to point you to the Electrical Safety Month Web page, prepared by DOE's Energy Facility Contractors Group. This year EFCOG has collected a number of useful and interesting videos, presentations and printable materials on electrical safety for both work environments and around the home. Some of the more interesting topics deal with electrical equipment and issues found at home, including extension cords, surge protectors, the relatively new arc fault circuit interrupters, power tools, swimming pools and lightning.

Since most electric shocks at work happen to non-electrical workers, we urge everyone at the lab to take electrical safety seriously. At work you must abide by the rules set forth in the FESHM chapters. At home, please be aware of common electrical hazards and take steps to reduce them.

Michael Utes, Electrical Safety Subcommittee

Photo of the Day

Osprey prey

Birds of prey are here to stay. An osprey helps balance the ecosystem, taking a fish from a little pond created by the last heavy rain near the horse stables close to DZero. Photo: Jesus Orduna, Rice University
In the News

Fermilab scientist is first American to win outreach award

From Kane County Chronicle, May 17, 2013

BATAVIA—Fermilab scientist Don Lincoln said he enjoys telling others about what he does.

He has written such books as "Understanding the Universe" and "The Quantum Frontier" and made several YouTube videos explaining science in a down-to-earth manner.

Lincoln, 49, of Geneva, has become the first American to win an Outreach Award from the European Physical Society.

Read more

Announcements

Today's New Announcements

Pool memberships on sale now

Martial arts class - begins today

Fermilab Family Outdoor Fair - June 9

DASTOW scheduled - June 21

Fermilab prairie quadrat study

46th Fermilab Users Meeting registration now open

Register for Argonne-UChicago-Fermilab collaboration meeting

Bologna workshop in honor of Franco Rimondi

Swim lessons for children

10,000 Steps-A-Day enrollment

Open gym basketball Tuesday evenings

Scottish country dancing meets Tuesday evenings in Kuhn Barn

Outdoor soccer at the Village

International folk dancing meets Thursday evenings in Kuhn Barn

English country dancing at Kuhn Barn