CALICE reaches half-way point in calorimeter testing

Members of the CALICE collaboration stand in front of the particle flow calorimeter at the Meson Test Area. Back row: (left to right) Frank Simon, Nils Feege, Jose Repond. Front row: (left to right) Shunsuke Tozuka, Adil Khan, Miho Nishiyama, Katsushige Kotera and Satoru Uozumi.

The CALICE collaboration recently entered the final phase of its multi-year program to test hadron calorimeters in the beamline. The calorimeters, devices used to measure the energy of particles, would allow scientists to precisely measure the energy of hadron particles in detectors for the proposed International Linear Collider.

"Testing calorimeters will allow a detailed understanding of the strong and weak points of different calorimetry technology options for use in the ILC," said Marcel Demarteau, a scientist with the Particle Physics Division.

The proposed ILC would use high-precision calorimeters to measure the energy of sprays of particles called jets through a technique called particle flow. Scientists need a highly granular calorimeter to measure the energy of each particle flowing through the calorimeter at the moment of collision.

"These tests lie at the heart of establishing particle flow-based calorimetry for the ILC," Demarteau said.

The CALICE collaboration used new technology to build the calorimeters. This task involves the work of more than 30 research institutes and universities around the world.

Particle flow calorimeter testing will end in June. The collaboration will then shift its attention toward testing a new type of calorimeter in the fall.

--Andre Sulluchuco

Right place at the right time

A few days a week Fermilab's firefighters strap on all of their gear and run up and down the stairs in Wilson Hall to stay in shape. On Friday, May 15, they were ready to begin their workout when they received a call to the cafeteria. A few of the buffalo burgers, which cafeteria employees were pre-cooking for the Friday evening barbeque in the Users' Center, caught fire on the grill. Firefighters Brian Schopp and Chris Hurst put out the fire. The grill was cleaned and cooking was resumed shortly.

Walk in a wildflower wonderland Tuesday

Fermi Natural Areas will offer a woodland flower walk on Tuesday, May 19, at noon. Contractor Ryan Campbell, who worked for three summers with prairie restoration pioneer Bob Betz, will guide the tour, which will leave from the Margaret Pearson Trail. Campbell and Roads and Grounds' Bob Lootens will answer questions and explain the history of the spring plants and wildflowers now at their seasonal peak. Wear sturdy outdoor shoes for the grass and dirt path, which may be muddy. For more information, call x3303. More information about Fermi Natural Areas.

What's the anti-matter with 'Angels & Demons'

From Beacon News, May 8, 2009

So there's this secret society, and they want to blow up the Vatican.

Being the brilliant secret society they are, they decide the best way to do this is to break into Europe's premier particle physics lab, CERN in Switzerland, and steal a quarter-gram of anti-matter. Anti-matter, of course, explodes on contact with matter -- and the Vatican, unfortunately, is completely made of matter.

With the fate of millions on the line, the only man who can stop them is Tom Hanks.

That is the plot of "Angels and Demons," opening today on movie screens across the country. And though it promises thrills aplenty, the science in the film isn't quite, in the complex terminology of particle physicists, "correct."

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia has been helping to organize a series of lectures on the matter (and the anti-matter). These events are happening all over the country in the coming weeks, and locally, the lab will host its own lecture on Thursday.

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