Fermilab's superconducting cavity program moves forward

Third harmonic accelerating module team members Tug Arkan, Chuck Grimm and Jeff Wittenkeller stand in front of the completed, packed and ready to ship 3.9 GHz cryomodule.

Superconducting cavity development at Fermilab recently reached a major milestone.

Fermilab scientists and engineers shipped their first successfully completed and tested 3.9 GHz superconducting module to DESY on Friday, April 24.

The module, which consisted of four superconducting cavities and associated infrastructure arrived safely on Tuesday, April 28. It will become part of the German laboratory's FLASH free-electron laser.

Fermilab scientists Helen Edwards and Elvin Harms, leaders of the effort at Fermilab, and TD engineer Chuck Grimm, witnessed the module's arrival and carried out initial checkout. During the next few weeks, other Fermilab scientists, engineers and technicians will be at DESY to check the cavity's systems, alignment and instrumentation before cooling down the module for testing this fall at DESY's Cryomodule Test Bed. Installation in FLASH is expected in early 2010.

"By completing this cavity successfully, Fermilab was able to demonstrate that it can be a key player in developing SRF cavities," said Elvin Harms, an Accelerator Division engineering physicist.

The successful completion and test also marks a milestone for the International Linear Collider, a proposed electron-positron collider that could help to unlock the universe's deepest mysteries. The proposed ILC will comprise 16,000 superconducting accelerator cavities within vessels at near zero temperatures. The cavities used in the ILC would operate at 1.3 GHz, a different frequency than the 3.9 GHz cavities. However, Fermilab scientists found the experience assembling superconducting cavities valuable.

"This milestone demonstrates Fermilab's capability to produce superconducting RF cavities, which are the heart of the ILC," said Andy Hocker, associate scientist in TD.

Scientists from Fermilab, Argonne National Laboratory, and Jefferson National Laboratory carried out precise simulations for the 3.9 GHz cavities. The cavities were horizontally and vertically tested at Fermilab and then assembled into a cavity string at the MP9 Cryomodule Assembly Facility. The final assembly into a cryostat took place at the Industrial Center Building.

"We can all learn from each other, especially in developing new technologies," Harms said.

Harms hailed the successful test as a major step forward. "Fermilab is carving its niche," Harms said. "DESY has acknowledged us as world leaders in building 3.9 GHz systems."

-- Andre Sulluchuco

Celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage month

In recognition of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Fermilab Diversity Council is celebrating the Asian/Pacific cultural heritage throughout the Fermilab community.

From noon-1 p.m. on May 12, Shekhar Mishra and Bakul Banerjee will give a Brown-Bag talk in One West. Mishra will present on Indian science and Banerjee will give a presentation titled "Values We Bring - A Perspective from the Indian Dispora." A cultural performance will take place from 12:15 p.m. - 1 p.m. on May 15 in Ramsey Auditorium.

On May 26, from noon - 1 p.m. in One North, NALWO, Fermilab's Women's Organization will host a Brown Bag program on Chinese Ceramics from 4800 BC to 1368 AD. An Asian Tea Festival & Art Display will take place on May 29.

An Asian Culture Quiz Contest will also take place throughout the month. Questions are posted on a billboard in the atrium and on a Web site.

Scientists, lawmakers break ground on Ash River neutrino lab

From Fox 21 News, May 3, 2009

ASH RIVER, Minn. - A major science experiment that started several years ago in the Soudan Underground Mine is expanding north to Ash River near the Canadian border.

Physicists are studying tiny particles called neutrinos. A huge facility at Fermilab in Illinois sends out a beam of neutrinos, and the Soudan Lab catches them -- a half-mile underground.

University of Minnesota Professor Marvin Marshak said at Ash River, they'll follow up on what they've learned at the Soudan lab. "Those experiments have raised new questions about the properties of ... neutrinos and this lab at Ash River is going to try to answer them," he said.

Read more and watch the video.

The Daily Show on CERN

The Daily Show visits CERN.

The Daily Show visited CERN to unearth the truth behind the rumors that the world's largest and most sophisticated science experiment will suck the Earth into a black hole.

The half-hour cable program, hosted by Jon Stewart, takes satirical aim at current news events, and has an almost fanatical American following, making it an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series with 3.6 million total viewers at its peak.

"News" anchor John Oliver spent several days at the European particle physics laboratory this year learning about the Large Hadron Collider. In true, non-objective Daily Show form, he questioned whether the LHC is a doomsday machine or a tool to answer the most fundamental questions in the universe, including why the world has structure and isn't an a big blob of free-floating energy.

Read more