Bringing a Van de Graaff Accelerator to Life
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
21-4-2008 1:00 PM
End Date
21-4-2008 3:00 PM
Student's Major
Mechanical and Civil Engineering
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Andrew D. Roberts
Mentor's Department
Physics and Astronomy
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
A particle accelerator is a device that is used to create energetic beams of charged particles, such as protons or deuterons: These expensive and complex machines have been essential to modem nuclear physics since the early 20th century, and have been applied to a wide range of disciplines from engineering to medicine.
The Physics department at MSU-Mankato acquired a 400kV accelerator in 1972. The machine, the AN-400 manufactured by High Voltage Engineering, served numerous researchers and students for nearly 20 years. The machine was partially dismantled and stored in its dedicated shielded vault since that time.
The goal of this project, started in 2006, is to completely rebuild the accelerator, using both the original system and spare parts from a decommissioned accelerator from St. Cloud State, and to improve it's capabilities beyond what was available previously. Work was done to rebuild the interior electrical and mechanical systems, and repair the control wiring and components that had been previously damaged. Though the desired vacuum throughout the machine has not yet been reached, there has been success in lighting the ion source plasma as well as eliminating the excessive sparking that had previously been observed. We continue to work on improving the pressure along with the beam regulation, control system, and the ion source tuning. Once basic operation has been established the accelerator will be evaluated using a variety of classical physics experiments, such as Rutherford scattering of proton beams and nuclear reaction studies. We are hoping, its operation in our university will build a step towards a much desired onsite applied nuclear science program.
Bringing a Van de Graaff Accelerator to Life
CSU Ballroom
A particle accelerator is a device that is used to create energetic beams of charged particles, such as protons or deuterons: These expensive and complex machines have been essential to modem nuclear physics since the early 20th century, and have been applied to a wide range of disciplines from engineering to medicine.
The Physics department at MSU-Mankato acquired a 400kV accelerator in 1972. The machine, the AN-400 manufactured by High Voltage Engineering, served numerous researchers and students for nearly 20 years. The machine was partially dismantled and stored in its dedicated shielded vault since that time.
The goal of this project, started in 2006, is to completely rebuild the accelerator, using both the original system and spare parts from a decommissioned accelerator from St. Cloud State, and to improve it's capabilities beyond what was available previously. Work was done to rebuild the interior electrical and mechanical systems, and repair the control wiring and components that had been previously damaged. Though the desired vacuum throughout the machine has not yet been reached, there has been success in lighting the ion source plasma as well as eliminating the excessive sparking that had previously been observed. We continue to work on improving the pressure along with the beam regulation, control system, and the ion source tuning. Once basic operation has been established the accelerator will be evaluated using a variety of classical physics experiments, such as Rutherford scattering of proton beams and nuclear reaction studies. We are hoping, its operation in our university will build a step towards a much desired onsite applied nuclear science program.
Recommended Citation
Oliver, Olivia Rose; Scott Alexander Clarke; Arbin Timilsina; and John Clymer. "Bringing a Van de Graaff Accelerator to Life." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 21, 2008.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2008/poster-session-B/38
