The Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) was the world's first hadron collider. It operated from 1971 to 1984 and held the record luminosity for hadron colliders till 2004. The ISR hosted the first superconducting quadrupole magnets. The ISR low-$\beta$ quadrupole magnets were part of a luminosity upgrade program. The coils were wound using a rectangular Cu/Nb-Ti wire, enamel insulated, and were epoxy impregnated. Glass-epoxy bands kept the coils together in the quadrupole configuration and withstood the electromagnetic forces.
The Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) was the world's first hadron collider. It operated from 1971 to 1984 and held the record luminosity for hadron colliders till 2004. The ISR hosted the first superconducting quadrupole magnets. The ISR low-$\beta$ quadrupole magnets were part of a luminosity upgrade program. The coils were wound using a rectangular Cu/Nb-Ti wire, enamel insulated, and were epoxy impregnated. Glass-epoxy bands kept the coils together in the quadrupole configuration and withstood the electromagnetic forces.
The Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP) was the largest lepton collider ever built, and gave high precision measurements of the W and Z particles. LEP was commissioned in 1989 and shut down in 2000, to leave room for the LHC. In conjunction with an energy upgrade, new, superconducting, final- focus (low-$\beta$) quadrupole magnets were built. The new magnets resembled much those built for the ISR luminosity upgrade, i.e., the coils were wound with a single rectangular wire. They operated at 4.5 K in a cryostat especially developed to fit into the limited space available in the shield placed in front of the experiment.
The Large Electron-Positron Collider (LEP) was the largest lepton collider ever built, and gave high precision measurements of the W and Z particles. LEP was commissioned in 1989 and shut down in 2000, to leave room for the LHC. In conjunction with an energy upgrade, new, superconducting, final- focus (low-$\beta$) quadrupole magnets were built. The new magnets resembled much those built for the ISR luminosity upgrade, i.e., the coils were wound with a single rectangular wire. They operated at 4.5 K in a cryostat especially developed to fit into the limited space available in the shield placed in front of the experiment.
Rock samples taken from 0 to 170 m below ground on the CERN site when the LEP (Large Electron Positron collider) pit number 6 was drilled in Bois-chatton (Versonnex). The challenges of LHC civil engineering: A mosaic of works, structures and workers of differents crafts and origins. Three consulting consortia for the engineering and the follow-up of the works. Four industrial consortia for doing the job. A young team of 25 CERN staff, 30 surface buildings, 32 caverns of all sizes, 170 000 m3 of concrete, 420 000 m3 excavated. 1998-2004 : six years of work and 340 millions Swiss Francs.
Rock samples taken from 0 to 170 m below ground on the CERN site when the LEP (Large Electron Positron collider) pit number 6 was drilled in Bois-chatton (Versonnex). The challenges of LHC civil engineering: A mosaic of works, structures and workers of differents crafts and origins. Three consulting consortia for the engineering and the follow-up of the works. Four industrial consortia for doing the job. A young team of 25 CERN staff, 30 surface buildings, 32 caverns of all sizes, 170 000 m3 of concrete, 420 000 m3 excavated. 1998-2004 : six years of work and 340 millions Swiss Francs.
The high magnetic fields needed for guiding particles around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ring are created by passing 12’500 amps of current through coils of superconducting wiring. At very low temperatures, superconductors have no electrical resistance and therefore no power loss. The LHC is the largest superconducting installation ever built. The magnetic field must also be extremely uniform. This means the current flowing in the coils has to be very precisely controlled. Indeed, nowhere before has such precision been achieved at such high currents. Magnet coils are made of copper-clad niobium–titanium cables — each wire in the cable consists of 9’000 niobium–titanium filaments ten times finer than a hair. The cables carry up to 12’500 amps and must withstand enormous electromagnetic forces. At full field, the force on one metre of magnet is comparable to the weight of a jumbo jet. Coil winding requires great care to prevent movements as the field changes. Friction can create hot spots which “quench” the magnet and ruin its superconductivity. A quench in any of the LHC superconducting magnets would stop machine operation. 50’000 tonnes of steel sheets are used to make the magnet yokes that keep the wiring firmly in place. The yokes constitute approximately 80% of the accelerator's weight and, placed side by side, stretch over 20 km!
The high magnetic fields needed for guiding particles around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) ring are created by passing 12’500 amps of current through coils of superconducting wiring. At very low temperatures, superconductors have no electrical resistance and therefore no power loss. The LHC is the largest superconducting installation ever built. The magnetic field must also be extremely uniform. This means the current flowing in the coils has to be very precisely controlled. Indeed, nowhere before has such precision been achieved at such high currents. Magnet coils are made of copper-clad niobium–titanium cables — each wire in the cable consists of 9’000 niobium–titanium filaments ten times finer than a hair. The cables carry up to 12’500 amps and must withstand enormous electromagnetic forces. At full field, the force on one metre of magnet is comparable to the weight of a jumbo jet. Coil winding requires great care to prevent movements as the field changes. Friction can create hot spots which “quench” the magnet and ruin its superconductivity. A quench in any of the LHC superconducting magnets would stop machine operation. 50’000 tonnes of steel sheets are used to make the magnet yokes that keep the wiring firmly in place. The yokes constitute approximately 80% of the accelerator's weight and, placed side by side, stretch over 20 km!