Accelerator Team Wins Praise
Prof. A.K. Mann, who heads Experiment #310 in the Neutrino Area, had high praise for the Fermilab accelerator when asked recently about progress on his experiment.
"In 2-1/2 weeks we have received as many protons on the neutrino target as we did in 2-1/2 years of running our previous experiment, #1-A." Mann went on to point out that beam intensity per pulse for use by the experimenters is now a factor of ten better than two years ago, and "besides that, the overall stability of operation is several times better." The E-310 group is studying neutrinos and the weak force involved in neutrino interactions.
Russ Huson, head of the Accelerator Division, replies, "Yes, it's true that some of the hard work we have been putting into making multitudes of minor improvements to the accelerator over the past few years now seems to be paying off. Naturally, we still have our bad days from time to time, but we are usually able to run for quite reasonable lengths of time with few interruptions."
Russ has been emphasizing to the staff of the Accelerator Division for some time that though there may not be as much excitement in running a whole shift without a break as there is to a sudden dramatic increase in intensity, to an experimenter the uninterrupted running is more important. A sudden interruption of the accelerator running may mean that the experiment will have to repeat or re-evaluate its data.
"The fight for reliability is one in which we must be involved constantly," says Huson. "It is gratifying to have our victories noticed and appreciated by the experimenters."