CERN LHC = danger?

This is a quote of a CERN press release:

'CERN PRESS RELEASE

LHC completes the circle

At a brief ceremony deep under the French countryside today, CERN Director General Robert Aymar sealed the last interconnect in the world's largest cryogenic system, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This is the latest milestone in commissioning the LHC, the world's most powerful particle accelerator.

The LHC's cryogenic system has the task of cooling some 36 800 tonnes of material to a temperature of just 1.9 degrees above absolute zero (–271.3°C), colder than outer space. To do this, over 10 000 tonnes of liquid nitrogen and 130 tonnes of liquid helium will be deployed through a cryogenic system including over 40 000 leak-tight welds. Today's ceremony marks the end of a two year programme of work to connect all the main dipole and quadrupole magnets in the LHC. This complex task included both electrical and fluid connections.

"This is a huge accomplishment," said Lyn Evans, LHC project leader. "Now that it is done, we can concentrate on getting the machine cold and ready for physics."

The LHC is a circular machine, 27 kilometres around and divided into eight sectors, each of which can be cooled down to its operating temperature of 1.9 degrees above absolute zero and powered-up individually. One sector was cooled down, powered and warmed up in the first half of 2007. This was an important learning process, allowing subsequent sectors to be tested more quickly.

"Over the coming months, we'll be cooling down the remaining sectors," said Evans. "Five sectors will be cooling by the end of 2007, with the remaining three joining them early next year."

If all goes well, the first beams could be injected into the LHC in May 2008, and circulating beams established by June or July. With a project of this scale and complexity, however, the transition from construction to operation is a lengthy process.

"There is no big red button, and there are inevitably hurdles to be overcome as we bring the LHC into operation," said Aymar, "Every part of the system has to be brought on stream carefully, with each sub-system and component tested and repaired if necessary."

"There have been no show-stoppers so far," added Evans. "For a machine of this complexity, things are going remarkably smoothly and we're all looking forward to doing physics with the LHC next summer. If for any reason we have to warm up a sector, though," he cautioned, "we'll be looking at the end of summer rather than the beginning."

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its Member States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. India, Israel, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have Observer status.'

The below is aqQuote from CERN Courier, Issue Jan 21, 2008 with title 'Electronics for LHC-era experiments and beyond' by Mike Letheren and François Vasey, CERN, on behalf of the TWEPP scientific committee:

Mike Letheren and François Vasey report on TWEPP '07, a workshop that reviewed experience gained from developing electronics for LHC experiments and which looked at the challenges for future projects.

It says:

'With the LHC experiments now well into their commissioning phase, the meeting in Prague was a timely occasion to review lessons learned from more than a decade of design, production and installation of detector electronics. It was also a time to look forward to the challenges of developments in electronics for potential experimental facilities beyond the LHC, such as the Super-LHC (SLHC), the International Linear Collider (ILC) and the Compact Linear Collider study, as well as neutrino and fixed-target experiments.'

In then tells about the lessons learned at the workshop:

'Speakers reported on significant progress in integrating the sub-detectors in the LHC experiments and in commissioning tests with cosmic rays. In general, the performance of the front-end and back-end electronics and the associated software and firmware for controls, monitoring and readout, agrees well with expectations. This major achievement is largely a result of the tremendous effort that the community has made to deliver complex and functional electronics systems to the experiments. However, installation and verification of the complicated services for the front-end electronics (power, cooling, cables etc) often turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated. One particular point of concern relates to the supply and distribution of power to the experiments. In the current LHC detectors, typically only around 30–40% of the power produced is really dissipated in the front-end circuits, the remainder being lost in long power cables and through conversion inefficiencies in power supplies.

A more efficient power distribution system would have reduced the amount of material required in the form of power cabling and cooling infrastructure to remove the heat; this in turn would have allowed improved tracking detectors. The development of such power supply and distribution systems will be critical for the successful construction of future detectors.'

This quote talks about data issues:
'ASIC projects presented at the workshop employed a range of standard CMOS technologies (with minimum feature sizes of 350 nm, 250 nm, 180 nm and 130 nm), as well as other technologies chosen to meet the specific requirements of different detectors. The latter included silicon-germanium processes to handle signals with a wide dynamic range, high-voltage processes for DC–DC converter developments, and silicon-on-insulator technology for the development of monolithic integrated pixel detectors.'

And then concludes with:
'The TWEPP '07 workshop confirmed that most electronics systems for LHC experiments are ready and functioning according to specifications. In addition, it took a further step towards extending the original goals of the earlier Workshops on Electronics for LHC Experiments to the wider community of particle physicists engaged in developing future experimental facilities. It provided an excellent forum to exchange novel ideas, technical know-how and practical experience between different sectors of the international particle-physics community. In a context where electronics is an essential enabler for future experiments, such a forum will certainly contribute to improving the quality and reliability of the systems built. It will also lead to the formation of new collaborations and the preparation of common projects.'

The below is quoted from the CERN Courier, Issue Aug 20, 2007 with title 'Faces and Places
':

CERN inaugurates LHC cryogenics

'The beginning of June saw the start of a new phase at the LHC project, with the inauguration of LHC cryogenics. This was marked with a symposium in the Globe of Science and Innovation attended by 178 representatives of the research institutes involved and industrial partners. It also coincided with the stable low-temperature operation of the cryogenic plant for sector 7-8, the first sector to be cooled down.'

And says:

'The LHC and its large particle detectors make intensive use of superconducting magnets and cryogenics. The LHC helium cryogenic system is the largest and most complex ever built, with more than 160 kW equivalent at 4.5 K and 20 kW at 1.8 K (CERN Courier May 2004 p15). '

And then continues:

'The main elements for both the accelerator and the detectors are now operational. The large superconducting magnets and liquid argon calorimeters for the ATLAS and CMS experiments have been cooled and tested, and all superconducting magnets for the accelerator have been procured from industry, cold tested at CERN and installed in the ring. The first 3.3 km sector of the machine – one-eighth of the circumference – has been cooled down and tested, permitting the full-scale validation of basic design choices. '

And then talks about who attended the symposium - and who sponsored it:

'The symposium brought together specialists from industry, participating institutes and CERN, all involved in the design and construction of the LHC cryogenic system. Some 20 general and scientific journalists also attended. The event culminated with the formal inauguration and ribbon-cutting by the LHC project leader Lyn Evans and a final buffet. The event was co-sponsored by Air Liquide DTA (France), ISQ (Portugal) and Linde Kryotechnik AG (Switzerland).'

Below a Quote from CERN Courier in which they print an article originally printed February 1963:

'The 23rd session of CERN Council was held on 19 December 1962, under the presidency of Mr Jean Willems (Belgium). The president opened the session by a tribute to the memory of Prof. Niels Bohr, one of the founders of CERN, who died on 18 November.'

And the article continues:

'The Member States which brought CERN into being and encouraged it to build the accelerators that are now working, he suggested, should support the exploitation of CERN in the same spirit as they fully supported its construction. Our laboratory, which is at the centre of Europe in the field of high-energy physics, must not fall behind similar laboratories elsewhere in the world, and its capacity of exploitation must not be restrained if it is not to become a second-rate institution.

The Director-general also stated that as CERN is part of this situation it must fulfil the demands for more and better opportunities of work, and more scientific material for study and exploitation, by the rapidly growing number of European scientists entering the field and anxious to contribute to it. As now foreseen, a full exploitation of CERN would require 2200 or more personnel (staff, fellows and visitors) against the 1450 it has now.

Voting the budget for 1963, the Council authorized CERN to spend 94.2 million Swiss francs in 1963 to pursue its basic research in nuclear physics. The sum corresponds to an increase of 13% over the budget voted for 1962, together with an allowance of 3.6% for price increases. From this should be deducted 1.7 million from miscellaneous receipts. Contributions from Member States amount therefore to 92.5 million Swiss francs.'

And, then the article talks about CERN adding space in France:

'Another important development was the Council's approval in principle of an extension of the CERN site into French territory. "CERN could be the first international organization with a site extending on either side of an international frontier", declared Mr. François de Rose, Ministre plénipotentiaire of France.

This new move had its origin as early as 1958, when the then Director-general, Prof. C J Bakker, expressed the fear that CERN might lack space on its present site. A survey of the surrounding area subsequently showed that the most favourable direction for expansion would be on to French territory. An approach was made through the French delegation, and at this meeting of Council the delegates of France gave the news that their Government is willing to put at CERN's disposal an area of land in the Commune of St. Genis (Department of Ain), immediately adjoining the present site. This land, alongside the main road from Geneva to Lyon, would have an area of about 40 hectares (100 acres), that is, about the same as that of the present CERN site, which was placed at the disposal of the Organization by the Swiss in 1953. The Swiss authorities have already been approached by the French and have reacted favourably to this proposal to extend CERN across the frontier..'

This information appeared at the front of each issue of CERN Courier in the 1960s.

The below is quoted from Issue No.45/2004 published on Mon 1st November 2004:

I quote:
'Scientists, heads of state, and representatives from many countries came to CERN's Official 50th Anniversary Ceremony 19 October to celebrate the Organization's 50th anniversary, and to praise its contributions to human knowledge while also fostering cooperation between scientists and their countries, across Europe and beyond.'

And: 'More than 800 invitees, including 28 delegations of member and observer states, attended CERN's official 50th anniversary ceremony.'

The attendes list included:
'Juan Carlos, the King of Spain; Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic of France; Joseph Deiss, President of the Swiss Confederation; many represenatatives and ministers of member and observer states; and Nobel Prize winners all attended the event. Before the ceremony, Jacques Chirac visited the CMS construction site in Cessy, and in the afternoon he, Joseph Deiss, and Juan Carlos toured the ATLAS cavern before coming to the Globe of Science and Innovation.

In the Globe, a multimedia presentation tailored to each country played while the representatives entered and signed a large, gilded visitor's book. This gathering of VIPs was a priceless photo opportunity, and they all joined together for a "photo de famille" to mark the occasion.

In a large tent erected for the event, nearly 800 heard speeches by Robert Aymar, Director-General of CERN; CERN co-founder François de Rose; Professor Federico Mayor, former director of UNESCO; Maria van der Hoeven, Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (speaking on behalf of the President of the European Council, who was still recovering from a severe illness); Robert Cramer, President of the Geneva State Council; and the three heads of state. Professor Enzo Iarocci, President of Council, closed the ceremony.

François de Rose, one of CERN's founders and former President of Council, gave a moving speech.

A common theme throughout the speeches was how CERN has served, and will continue to serve, as a model of European cooperation and scientific rigor. The speakers pointed to how CERN scientists have deepened our knowledge of nature, while also creating technologies of practical import, such as new types of medical imaging equipment and, of course, the World Wide Web.

After the speeches in the tent, the VIPs were treated to a performance in the upper level of the Globe by Mimescope, a local troupe of acrobats and singers. Jacques Chirac also met with the Nobel Prize winners, and later he and Joseph Deiss had a cordial meeting in the Director-General's office where they discussed political issues such as relations between the Swiss Confederation and the European Union, and the upcoming United States elections.

The Swiss and French presidents with CERN's Director General at the inauguration of the new entrance into CERN from France, named Porte Charles de Gaulle.upcoming United States elections.

Earlier in the day, at the north end of the Meyrin site, Jacques Chirac and Joseph Deiss came together from their respective sides of the border to inaugurate the Porte Charles de Gaulle, a new gate into CERN which should make travel into the site easier. (For more information on the gate, also called Gate E, see this week's Official News.) Later Joseph Deiss inaugurated the Globe of Science and Innovation in the presence of Juan Carlos, Jacques Chirac, and Robert Aymar.

The King of Spain, Juan Carlos, met part of CERN's Spanish community before the ceremony.

All in all, the Official Ceremony went smoothly, and so was a fitting culmination of CERN's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

The speeches, photographs, and videos of the ceremony are available on the 50th Web site:

http://intranet.cern.ch/Chronological/2004/CERN50/

Golden Jubilee Photos - A Global Number Cruncher

CERN scientists knew from the beginning that the mountains of data that would pour from the LHC would be a problem. The Laboratory wouldn't have the computing power on site to sift through the raw data, which will annually be the equivalent of several million DVDs worth of information. But a network of computer centres dispersed around the world could pitch in to do the job.

This is very interesting. It is about the creation of the GRID:
'At the turn of the century, while CERN and partner institutes began designing a distributed computing solution for the LHC, computer scientists Ian Foster and Carl Kesselman in the US were gaining support for their vision of a computing Grid, analogous to the electrical Grid, that scientists could plug into. In melding these two goals, the LHC Computing Grid (LCG) project was born. Today, the LCG involves over 80 computer centres worldwide.'

The article then talks about the Grid:
'The Grid is often compared to distributed computing projects such as SETI@home, which uses PCs belonging to private individuals. However, LCG links whole computer centres and so can tackle problems that require much more complex software and high-speed networks.'

Since other sciences can also benefit from this sort of Grid, an EU-funded project called EGEE was launched earlier this year. Led by CERN and with 70 partners in Europe, Russia, and the US, the project will use LCG as a starting point to develop a Grid for all sciences.

The article then mentions the successful test of SPS-to-LHC beamline:

'On 23 October there was great excitement in the Prevessin control room when, on the first attempt, a beam passed over 2.5 km down the new SPS-to-LHC transfer line, TI8, to within a few metres of the LHC tunnel. Above: members of the AB, AT and TS departments involved in the beamline and its test, celebrate their success with the Director General, Robert Aymar, and the LHC Project Leader, Lyn Evans.'

ALICE takes root in Saint-Genis-Pouilly

And then concludes with:
'To celebrate the CERN 50th anniversary and to emphasize the close ties between the community of Saint-Genis-Pouilly, CERN and the ALICE Collaboration, Hubert Bertrand, Mayor of Saint-Genis-Pouilly and Christian Fabjan, Technical Coordinator of the ALICE Experiment, planted a tree on Saturday 16 October 2004 in front of the Jean Monet Culture Center.'

Read the full article at:
Link http://bulletin.cern.ch/eng/articles.php?bullno=45/2004&base=art