View of Fermilab site from Wilson Hall
When I was in Chicago a while ago, participating in a conference on cosmic phenomena, I decided to visit the Fermi National Accelerator Lab just south of Chicago. It’s named after Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, who in 1938 was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in induced radiation. He’s best known though for helping develop the first nuclear reactor (Chicago Pile-1) and for his contributions to quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics. It’s no wonder that the National Accelerator Lab in Batavia Illinois was named after him.
Consider that a lot of what we know about matter and energy—even how the universe began—was discovered over the last four decades at Fermilab. Did you know, for instance, that 95% of the universe consists of dark matter and dark energy? That leaves only 5% left for the “normal” visible matter like quarks and leptons. And what IS dark matter and energy, anyway?
Scientists at Fermilab are conducting some serious and very cool experiments to help reveal the nature of dark matter and dark energy, understand the origin of mass, search for extra dimensions and find out what role neutrinos play in the evolution of the universe.
I knew that Fermilab offered daily tours.
Full of questions like “are neutrinos the reason humans and stuffed animals exist”, I easily navigated my way to
Fermilab site with view of Tevatron
Batavia, Illinois; I’m not the most spatially challenged traveler (that would be my friend, Nina Munteanu the SF writer—she might as well be blind on the highway; but she makes up for her lack of internal GPS with a very cheerful attitude; I, of course, have both… :-3).
The Fermi complex comprises of several particle accelerator rings, associated linac, labs, offices, auditorium and visitor centre that sprawl at the centre of a sprawling 6800 acres of wetland/marsh and restored tallgrass prairie. It’s hard to miss Wilson Hall, which houses the main labs and offices. Twin towers of this elegant cathedral-like building rise 16 floors, taper like two hands in prayer toward the heavens and provide a scenic view of the Illinois countryside. The towers are joined by crossovers beginning at the seventh floor and offer the
Inside Wilson Hall
breathtaking expanse of one of the world’s largest atriums, soaring to the top of the hall. Robert R. Wilson, who was Fermilab’s founding director, designed the hall based on the Gothic cathedral in Beauvais, France. A renowned physicist and an accomplished artist and sculptor, Wilson believed that a research laboratory should be a cultural center for the community and the nation. He reminded me of Jonas Salk, whose similar vision spawned the unique design of the Salk Institute in California.
When I got there, it was quite late in the afternoon and the last of the regular tours had come and gone. The place was basically shut to the public.
Refusing to give in to defeat, I considered my next step. It came serendipitously, as usual: the concierge recognized me.
“I know you!” he expostulated joyfully. “Weren’t you one of the Sorbonne
Toulouse explores the bubble chamber
delegates at the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment in CERN several years ago?”
“No,” I said, eyes twinkling. “You mistake me for another gray stuffed cat with intelligent eyes.”
“Oh, no!” he insisted. “Monsieur Toulouse, it’s you!” He then suggested that I join the restricted science tour still in session on the fifteenth floor. I thanked him with a bow and took the elevator to unobtrusively join the tour, with a spectacular view of the Tevatron Ring, Fermi’s accelerator. The Tevatron accelerates beams of protons and antiprotons to ultra-high energy until they collide inside 5,000 ton particle detectors. The particles circle the four mile ring 47,000 times a second! The Tevatron is responsible for the technology at the heart of MRI scanners and is used to find evidence of an entirely new class of sub-atomic particles as well as the first signs of new dimensions of space-time.
Inside the Tevatron
We passed a demonstration of the Tevatron superconducting electro-magnets that conduct electricity without resistance. I lingered too long and found myself left behind. I scrambled into the open hallway and found no one. Was Fermi experimenting with teleportation in their space-time research?
My keen nose took me down to the Linac, which consisted of arrays upon arrays of WW-II vintage electronics: dials, switches and lights that performed their tasks admirably, even if they did look like a Fritz Lang version of modern technology. I found myself wandering into a vast room and instantly realized I was not supposed to be there. The hairs on my entire body
The Cockcroft-Walton generator
rose and I’m sure I resembled an unkempt tribble. It was as though I’d stumbled back in time onto a 1950’s SF movie set: gigantic metallic structures with coils and beams and wires loomed several stories high, gleaming like giant robots from outer space. Did I imagine an electric current running through my little stuffed body?
I’d, in fact, discovered the Cockcroft-Walton Generator at the head of the Linac, which helps get particles up to speed at the Tevatron. Lucky for me, the generator was not operating at the time (there are two of them) and I didn’t get zapped into a tiny piece of popcorn. I considered the Linac and its science-fiction generator my highlight as I rejoined the tour outside.
The linear accelerator room
I left the lab inexplicably energized and wandered the premises, smiling. The Fermilab site covers 6,800 acres of wetland, grassland and prairie, which supports a healthy herd of American bison. What are buffalo doing at a physics laboratory? No, they don’t serve the equivalent of the canary in the mineshaft—living Geiger counters to warn of radioactivity. I was assured that “Fermilab does not present a radiation hazard and Fermilab buffalo do not glow in the dark.” Robert Wilson brought the American bison to Fermilab in 1969 to strengthen Fermilab’s connection to America’s prairie heritage.
The mixture of protected ecosystems makes the Fermilab site a
Wilson Hall and friend
good refuge for many species of animals including lots of mammals and birds. Wildlife abounds in this cool place where I felt oddly at home. As if to corroborate that notion, one of the scientists invited me to join them at their local on-site watering hole, Chez Leon, for a light supper, where I enjoyed several margaritas and played pool with physicists, computer scientists and engineers.
Quantum questions
All in all, it was a good day. I’m Toulouse the COOL Travel Cat!
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