The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27
kilometer (17 mile) long particle accelerator straddling the border of
Switzerland and France, is nearly set to begin its first particle beam
tests. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is
preparing for its first small tests in early August, leading to a
planned full-track test in September - and the first planned particle
collisions before the end of the year. The final step before starting
is the chilling of the entire collider to -271.25 C (-456.25 F). Here
is a collection of photographs from CERN, showing various stages of
completion of the LHC and several of its larger experiments (some over
seven stories tall), over the past several years
The
Globe of Innovation in the morning. The wooden globe is a structure
originally built for Switzerland's national exhibition, Expo'02, and is
40 meters wide, 27 meters tall. (Maximilien Brice; Claudia Marcelloni,
© CERN)
Assembly
and installation of the ATLAS Hadronic endcap Liquid Argon Calorimeter.
The ATLAS detector contains a series of ever-larger concentric
cylinders around the central interaction point where the LHC's proton
beams collide. (Roy Langstaff, © CERN)
Checks
are performed on the alignment of the magnets in the LHC tunnel. It is
vital that each magnet is placed exactly where it has been designed so
that the path of the beam is precisely controlled. (Maximilien Brice, ©
CERN)
The
ALICE Inner Tracking System during its transport in the experimental
cavern and its insertion into the Time Projection Chamber (TPC). ALICE
(A Large Ion Collider Experiment @ CERN) will study the physics of
ultrahigh-energy proton-proton and lead-lead collisions and will
explore conditions in the first instants of the universe, a few
microseconds after the Big Bang. (Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
Insertion of the tracker in the heart of the CMS detector. (Maximilien Brice, ©
CERN)
The
LHCb electromagnetic calorimeter. This huge 6X7 square meter wall
consists of 3300 blocks containing scintillator, fibre optics and lead.
It will measure the energy of particles produced in proton-proton
collisions at the LHC when it is started. Photons, electrons and
positrons will pass through the layers of material in these modules and
deposit their energy in the detector through a shower of particles.
(Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
Photo
from the CMS pixel-strip integration test performed at the Tracker
Integration Facility at the Meyrin site. (Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
French, Swiss and CERN firemen move rescue equipment through the LHC tunnel.
(Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
View of the LHC cryo-magnet inside the tunnel. (Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
Insertion of the tracker in the heart of the CMS detector. (Maximilien Brice, ©
CERN)
The Z+ end of the CMS Tracker with Tracker Outer Barrel completed. (Maximilien
Brice, © CERN)
View
from the surface during lowering of the first ATLAS small wheel into
the tunnel on side C of the cavern. (Claudia Marcelloni, © CERN)
Lowering of one of the two ATLAS muon small wheels into the cavern. (Claudia
Marcelloni, © CERN)
View of the ATLAS detector during July 2007 (Claudia Marcelloni, © CERN)
A
welder works on the interconnection between two of the LHC's
superconducting magnet systems, in the LHC tunnel. (Maximilien Brice, ©
CERN)
View of the CMS detector at the end of 2007. (Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
Transporting the ATLAS Magnet Toroid End-Cap A between building 180 to ATLAS
point 1. (Claudia Marcelloni, © CERN)
View
of the ATLAS cavern side A beginning of February 2008, before lowering
of the Muon Small Wheels (Maximilien Brice; Claudia Marcelloni, © CERN)
The L3 magnet in the ALICE cavern, with one door almost closed. (Mona
Schweizer, © CERN)
Lowering of the last element (YE-1) of the CMS detector into its underground
experimental cavern. (Mona Schweizer, © CERN)
The
first ATLAS Inner Detector End-Cap after complete insertion within the
Liquid Argon Cryostat. (Claudia Marcelloni; Max Brice, © CERN)
Installation of the ATLAS pixel detector into the cavern (Claudia Marcelloni,
© CERN)
Installation of the Beam Pipe in the ATLAS cavern (Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
View of the Computer Center during the installation of servers. (Maximilien
Brice; Claudia Marcelloni, © CERN)
Installation of the world's largest silicon tracking detector in the CMS
experiment. (Michael Hoch, © CERN)
Aerial
view of CERN and the surrounding region of Switzerland and France.
Three rings are visible, the smaller (at lower right) shows the
underground position of the Proton Synchrotron, the middle ring is the
Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) with a circumference of 7 km and the
largest ring (27 km) is that of the former Large Electron and Positron
collider (LEP) accelerator with part of Lake Geneva in the background.
(© CERN)
