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CORNELL LABORATORY FOR ACCELERATOR-BASED SCIENCES AND EDUCATION

CLASSE NEWS | 22 Sep 2014

Cornell's Next Generation Accelerator Module makes Trek Across Campus

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Technicians move the vacuum vessel into place at the end of its cross-campus trek.

On Monday, September 22, a large red pipe moved across the Cornell campus -- to become the outer vessel of a future particle accelerator. The device is the outcome of a 10-year NSF-funded R&D program to develop a new generation of accelerators that is far more energy efficient than before. Inspired by the possibility of producing high power X-rays for scientific research using Energy-Recovery Linear Accelerator technology, it can also be used for a wider range of other accelerators, including other types X-ray source, particle colliders studying the gluons that bind atomic nuclei, and even nuclear reactors, where such accelerators could improve safety.

At the heart of the new accelerator are superconducting cavities, which transfer energy to the particle beam with unparalleled efficiency. The improvement in performance comes from superior preparation of the interior surfaces of the cavities, minimizing surface resistance. All were built on the Cornell campus, and their performance, tested individually before assembly, surpassed expectations. The construction of this major device has taken more than 2 years and has involved dozens of scientists, engineers and technicians from the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education (CLASSE).

The final assembly of the accelerator in the coming weeks will involve sliding the accelerating cavities into the red vessel. Once complete, this will be the most efficient, full-scale accelerator module in the world.

Cornell's work on energy efficient particle acceleration and the construction of the new prototype accelerator has been led by Professors Georg Hoffstaetter and Matthias Liepe, and Visiting Professor and project manager Ralf Eichhorn.