4 July
Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition
“The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition has just closed, and I feel absolutely shattered, hoarse from talking, and yet strangely sad to see the end of such a fabulous week”, said Lee Jones as the public reluctantly began to leave the exhibition hall. The Royal Society held their annual Summer Science Exhibition last week, and from 10:00 am on Tuesday June 30th until 5:00 pm on Saturday July 4th, there was a constant stream of interest from the public, school parties and the media.
L-R: Dr. Ricardo Bartollini a ,b, Prof. Phil Burrows a,c, Prof. Rolf-Dieter Heuer (CERN Director General), Prof. Emmanuelle Tsesmelis a,d, Ms. Suzie Sheehy a,c, Dr. John Thomason a,ec a John Adams Institute; b Diamond Light Source; c University of Oxford; d CERN; a STFC ISIS
BBC News Link
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The “Accelerators Everywhere: from the Big Bang to Curing Cancer” exhibit was a massive hit with the public. The 3m × 3m stand was packed with a huge variety of components from real accelerators, plus activities and giveaways designed to stimulate enquiry and conversation with visitors to draw attention to the myriad of ways in which particle accelerators have improved their lives. The stand was swamped with inquisitive visitors for most of each day, and parties of schoolchildren were amazed to learn about other applications of particle accelerators besides the iconic LHC particle collider which has become so indelibly fixed in the public mind.
On the opening day, the exhibition was visited by His Grace Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. Despite there being 39 other exhibits, Prince Edward spent several minutes at the stand, and he left with the key message that particle accelerators have an exciting future application in the treatment of otherwise-inoperable cancers.
A highlight of the week for the exhibitors were the two black tie evening soirées to which all Royal Society Fellows were invited, plus a list of special guests and VIPs. The Director General of CERN, Professor Rolf-Dieter Heuer, visited the stand and met the team during one of the soirées, and duly gave his approval! Many senior scientific figures who attended the soirées also made favorable comments about the exhibit and its message.
Most of the UK accelerator community was represented in what was a massive collaborative effort, with significant efforts from STFC staff via the Cockcroft Institute and ASTeC, ISIS and the DLS, the John Adams Institute (which includes the universities of Oxford, Royal Holloway and UCL), and CERN.
One of the highest-impact activities was the 3D virtual reality tour of the ALICE and EMMA accelerators at Daresbury. This allowed visitors to walk through the entire machines whilst examining them in detail, and greatly aided their understanding of how these machines work. The comment “awesome” or “fabulous” was often heard from the queue of school children who waited for the experience, and many visitors were surprised to learn that these cutting-edge machines were being developed in the United Kingdom.
The impact of the event is difficult to fully evaluate, but it is clear that we have demonstrated to the visitors that the UK is playing a leading role in particle accelerator development, and that their lives have already been improved by particle accelerators, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
L-R: Prof. Neil Marks a, Ms. Susan Smith a,b, Prof. Ken Peach c, Dr. Lee Jones a,b, Dr. Duncan Scott a,b.
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15 July
“A radio-frequency ‘Crab Cavity’ section for future ;particle colliders a novel technological element enabling deflection of crossing charged particle beams, thus enhancing their probability of collision and discovery of the hidden world within!”
Presented to Dr. Mike Dexter FRS by the staff of the Cockcroft Institute in appreciation of and gratitude for his commitment and support as first Chair of the Board 2004 to 2009, during which the Cockcroft Institute was founded and then established as an internationally recognised centre of excellence for accelerator science and engineering.
Dr. Dexter (Left) & Prof. Chattopadhyay
11 July
DPG Physics Teachers’ School on Accelerator and High Energy Physics 6th -10th July
More than ten thousand particle accelerators are presently in operation around the world. These machines are used as the key element for cancer therapy in modern hospitals, as state-of-the-art light sources, as well as particle smashers, such as the gigantic Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. To highlight the challenges the German Physical Society hosted a School on Accelerator and High Energy between July 6 and 10 at the physics centre in Bad Honnef, Germany.[toggle_box]
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More than ten thousand particle accelerators are presently in operation around the world. These machines are used as the key element for cancer therapy in modern hospitals, as state-of-the-art light sources, as well as particle smashers, such as the gigantic Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. To highlight the challenges the German Physical Society hosted a School on Accelerator and High Energy between July 6 and 10 at the physics centre in Bad Honnef, Germany.
Over 52 delegates and lecturers attended from all parts of Germany and were given an overview of the challenging physics and technology involved in particle accelerators and detectors. Sessions included basic ideas in cosmology, an introduction to the standard model of particle physics, and fundamental concepts in accelerators physics. A special evening seminar looked at the wide field of possible applications for both fundamental research and industry.
Extensive teaching material for modern physics courses was presented in dedicated sessions. Another main focus of the School was the LHC and its detectors CMS and ALICE. Experts from CERN gave an insight into their complex technology which triggered intense discussions throughout the course. Amazed by the wide range of applications of particle accelerators and the complexity of this area of research, the delegates left ‘fired up’ to pass this on to the next generation of scientists.
The school was initiated and directed by Carsten P. Welsch, Cockcroft Institute and Liverpool University. Since its foundation the institute is renowned for its training activities in accelerator science and technology. Training physics teachers and indirectly the next generation of researchers is one of the core missions the institute pursues in close collaboration with partners from all around the world.
Further information:
http://indico.cern.ch/event/56574
http://www.quasar-group.org
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