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EMMA at Daresbury

EMMA at Daresbury. Dr. Peter Williams, Accelerator Physicist STFC Daresbury Laboratory & Cockcroft Institute. An accelerator to solve the problems of the 21 st century. Talk given at British Association Mini Science Festival, Daresbury, 3 rd Oct 2010. What is a particle accelerator?

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EMMA at Daresbury

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  1. EMMA at Daresbury Dr. Peter Williams, Accelerator Physicist STFC Daresbury Laboratory & Cockcroft Institute An accelerator to solve the problems of the 21st century Talk given at British Association Mini Science Festival, Daresbury, 3rd Oct 2010

  2. What is a particle accelerator? A charged particle sees a voltage difference and accelerates away from a like charge This electron passes through a difference of 1.5 V. It has energy of 1.5 electron volts An electron volt is the unit of energy we use Particle Accelerators

  3. What is a particle accelerator? A cathode ray tube – old TV set A hot filament boils off electrons Needs to be done in a vacuum or electrons are stopped by air molecules Particle Accelerators

  4. Why were they developed? Wilhelm Roentgen (1845 – 1923) experimented passing electricity through vacuum tubes Particle Accelerators

  5. Why were they developed? Hand mitringen Wilhelm Röntgen's first X-ray, of his wife's hand, taken on 22 December 1895 She said, “I have seen my death!” Particle Accelerators

  6. Why were they developed? We now call this diagnostic radiology Particle Accelerators

  7. They were refined and made more powerful The high energy particles produced are akin to super-microscopes, we can bounce them off stuff just as we bounce light to see things The difference is we can “see” much smaller things Cockcroft & Walton aided Rutherford in discovering the nucleus of the atom Particle Accelerators

  8. They were refined and made more powerful The high energy particles are akin to super-microscopes, we can bounce them off stuff just as we bounce light to see things The difference is we can “see” much smaller things Cockcroft & Walton aided Rutherford in discovering the nucleus of the atom Particle Accelerators

  9. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Nature of matter Particle Accelerators

  10. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Evolution of the universe Particle Accelerators

  11. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Secrets of life Particle Accelerators

  12. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Secrets of life Particle Accelerators

  13. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Fight against disease Particle Accelerators

  14. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Higher yielding crops Particle Accelerators

  15. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Durable concrete Particle Accelerators

  16. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Tougher steel Particle Accelerators

  17. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Safer jet engines Particle Accelerators

  18. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Better fuel efficiency Particle Accelerators

  19. Particle accelerators enabled the science & technology of the 20th century Understanding the past Particle Accelerators

  20. Particle accelerators can be deployed to solve the big problems facing society in the 21st century • EMMA at Daresbury (funded by the CONFORM project) will help us address at least two very different problems: • UK’s leading cause of death, cancer • Need for large scale, zero-carbon source of electricity Particle Accelerators

  21. Robert Winston: Intro

  22. Most research particle accelerators today come in two types: • Cyclotrons • Synchrotrons Types of Modern Accelerator

  23. Most research particle accelerators today come in two types: • Cyclotrons • Synchrotrons • They both use the fact that a charged particle moving in a constant magnetic field is deflected into a circle – we bring the particle back to the voltage difference and kick it again, and again ... Types of Modern Accelerator

  24. The first modern accelerator Developed by Ernest Lawrence at Berkeley, California in 1932 This fits on the palm of your hand and produced 80,000 electron volt protons Cyclotron

  25. It is like swinging a stone on a string, Proton is the stone, magnetic field is the string, alternating voltage across the gap between the two D-shaped magnets increases the speed of the stone, string tension constant, so string length increases The proton spirals out to the edge Cyclotron

  26. The 60,000,000 electron volt proton cyclotron at Clatterbridge Oncology Centre on the Wirral In operation since 1988 treating eye tumours Maximum penetration depth of 31mm Cyclotron

  27. The 590,000,000 electron volt proton cyclotron at Paul ScherrerInstitut, Switzerland The highest energy cyclotron in the world Predominantly nuclear physics research Cyclotron

  28. Pro: We can inject a large number of particles at the start continuously, we say it is a high current machine Con: The orbit increases with energy, we must keep the magnetic field constant, therefore the magnets soon become prohibitively expensive (we also have trouble coping with relativity). So practically it is a low energy machine (certainly less than 1,000,000,000 electron volts) Cyclotron

  29. Types of Modern Accelerator • Most research particle accelerators today come in two types: • Cyclotrons • Synchrotrons

  30. The quest for higher energy = better microscope. Nuclear & particle physics need high energy Back to swinging a stone on a string, this time we keep the string length constant and let the tension in the string increase as we kick the stone Synchrotrons

  31. Bending magnets Accelerating cavity Synchrotrons Vacuum tube Focusing magnets

  32. Swinging a stone on a string, this time we keep the string length constant and let the tension in the string increase as we kick the stone To do this we put the particles in a ring, then increase the strength of the magnets, all the while keeping the revolution frequency constant with a voltage difference kick (called an RF cavity) Synchrotrons

  33. Pro: The energy limit is given by our ring radius and magnet strength. It is a high energymachine CERN Large Hadron Collider: Energy 7,000,000,000,000 electron volts Synchrotrons

  34. Pro: The energy limit is given by our ring radius and magnet strength. It is a high energymachine Con: We put a small amount of particles in, then need to wait while the magnets increase in strength, then extract our particles at high energy. Changing the strength of magnets is a slow process. So it is a low current machine Synchrotrons

  35. A cross between a cyclotron and a synchrotron A long & complex name: Non-Scaling Fixed Field Alternating Gradient accelerator We keep the magnetic field fixed and let the orbit change position and shape in standard magnets – not a circle or a spiral Solution: The ns-FFAG

  36. However, no-one has ever built one before We do not know if the beam can be controlled We need a prototype ..... EMMA ... the world’s first ns-FFAG Solution: The ns-FFAG

  37. Robert Winston: Accelerators

  38. EMMA Application: Particle Therapy Cancer is frequently treated using radiotherapy High energy photons (X-rays) are directed at a tumour The aim is to kill cancerous cells, whilst leaving healthy cells Photons are not the best way to achieve this

  39. EMMA Application: Particle Therapy

  40. EMMA Application: Particle Therapy

  41. Other countries (Switzerland, Germany, USA) are developing particle therapy centres Clatterbridge was one of the first (1988) but its low energy cyclotron can only treat tumours on the of eye due to the small penetration depth (31mm) NHS is now sending patients abroad for treatment of other cancers, but cannot afford a UK centre Need for a cheaper accelerator ... EMMA as prototype EMMA Application: Particle Therapy

  42. Robert Winston: Particle Therapy

  43. We need to stop burning fossil fuels – they cause climate change EMMA Application: ADSR

  44. We need to stop burning fossil fuels – they cause climate change EMMA Application: ADSR

  45. We need to stop burning fossil fuels – they are becoming increasingly difficult to find & extract EMMA Application: ADSR

  46. Renewables cannot fill the gap • Even country-sized developments will not be enough • I would need to give an hour long • talk to fully justify this statement, • not today! • A wind turbine typically delivers • only 1.5 MW peak EMMA Application: ADSR

  47. Renewables cannot fill the gap Fossil fuels will need to be replaced by a basket of alternatives It is impossible to put such a basket together without nuclear power EMMA Application: ADSR

  48. Nuclear power has an image problem Safety: Chernobyl Waste disposal: NIMBY Proliferation: Rogue states & terrorists EMMA Application: ADSR

  49. Nuclear power has an image problem My view: there is no problem. I would need to give another Set of one hour talks on each of the three main objections to nuclear power to fully explain. Again, not today! EMMA Application: ADSR

  50. Nuclear power has an image problem Putting those to one side Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have nuclear power without critical reactors, long-lived waste and weapons grade by-products? We can. EMMA Application: ADSR

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