LCLS Hardware Hosts its First Electrons

The first of two bunch compressors, installed on the linac last fall, successfully passed optics and alignment testing last week.

by Brad Plummer

SLAC physicists and engineers celebrated a triumphant moment last week when a beam of electrons made it through sections of LCLS hardware newly installed on the linac. Using low-current pulses just energetic enough for beam position monitors to detect, the team spent three hours testing the new configuration for correct optics and alignment. To the delight of all, not only did the beam make it through smoothly, but it did so on the very first shot.

The immediate success of this test underscores the expertise of the technicians and engineers who did the installation work, said LCLS Physicist Jim Turner. "Crews did a whole lot of work on this area of the linac—they really did a remarkable job with all the different groups working closely together," he said. "When we put the beam through, it worked the first time. We got over a huge hurdle."

The new hardware, installed on the linac in sectors 20 and 21, comprises the LCLS transport line, the first of two bunch compressors and a series of reconfigured linac magnets. While the LCLS project still has a ways to go before actually generating x-rays, successfully firing a test beam through the new sections paves the way for installation of the radio frequency electron gun in March.

A Man, A Bike, A Plan

by Alison Drain

Colleagues Ernie Gomes (left) and Kirk Stoddard (far right) offer their support on Byers' Friday lunchtime ride. Anyone interested in joining should meet at noon on the north side of Building 24. (Click on image for larger version.)

Butch Byers began his work at SLAC as a contractor, hobnobbing with full-time employees on his daily lunch break bicycle ride. Ten years ago, when a fellow rider mentioned an opening at ES&H, Byers snagged it and ended up leaving biking in the dust—until recently.

"I hadn't biked much since I started working at SLAC and had kids," Byers, the Department Manager of Chemical and General Safety, said. "After having surgery last year, I was looking to recover and help myself overcome stress at work in a positive way."

When a friend tipped Byers about Team in Training, a national endurance sports program, he signed on for a big challenge. Along with 41 teammates, Byers will bike a 100-mile "century" ride around hilly Santa Barbara in March. Read more...

Uwe Bergmann to Speak at Café Scientifique

by Kelen Tuttle

Café Scientifique Silicon Valley, a local forum for debating science issues, will feature a lecture by SLAC's Uwe Bergmann at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 13.

Bergmann will discuss the Archimedes Palimpsest, the last unreadable pages of Archimedes' treatises. Bergmann lead a team of scientists that used an imaging technique called x-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging to finally reveal the text, hidden from view since antiquity on a goatskin parchment manuscript.

Since 1990, Bergmann has been an enthusiastic user of synchrotron radiation and has worked at numerous synchrotron facilities around the world. Bergmann joined SLAC in March 2003, and his research interests now focus on the development and application of novel synchrotron based x-ray techniques.

Learn more about Café Scientifique here.

Events (see all | submit)

January 31: (4:00 p.m.) F. Parmigiani - Frontiers in Science with FELs: The FERMI@ELETTRA project
February 1: (4:00 p.m.) SLAC Accelerator Seminar: QBA Lattice Design for Low Emittance Synchrotron Light Source

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New Publication: ESH Manual, Chapter 22, Waste Minimization

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Eye on Cosmos Is Lost to Short Circuit on Hubble NY Times
U.S. House Throws Science a Lifeline Science Now

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LCLS Hardware Hosts its First Electrons The first of two bunch compressors, installed on the linac last fall, successfully passed optics and alignment testing last week. by Brad Plummer SLAC physicists and engineers celebrated a triumphant moment last week when a beam of electrons made it through sections of LCLS hardware newly installed on the linac. Using low-current pulses just energetic enough for beam position monitors to detect, the team spent three hours testing the new configuration for correct optics and alignment. To the delight of all, not only did the beam make it through smoothly, but it did so on the very first shot. The immediate success of this test underscores the expertise of the technicians and engineers who did the installation work, said LCLS Physicist Jim Turner. "Crews did a whole lot of work on this area of the linac—they really did a remarkable job with all the different groups working closely together," he said. "When we put the beam through, it worked the first time. We got over a huge hurdle." The new hardware, installed on the linac in sectors 20 and 21, comprises the LCLS transport line, the first of two bunch compressors and a series of reconfigured linac magnets. While the LCLS project still has a ways to go before actually generating x-rays, successfully firing a test beam through the new sections paves the way for installation of the radio frequency electron gun in March.

A Man, A Bike, A Plan by Alison Drain Colleagues Ernie Gomes (left) and Kirk Stoddard (far right) offer their support on Byers' Friday lunchtime ride. Anyone interested in joining should meet at noon on the north side of Building 24. (Click on image for larger version.) Butch Byers began his work at SLAC as a contractor, hobnobbing with full-time employees on his daily lunch break bicycle ride. Ten years ago, when a fellow rider mentioned an opening at ES&H, Byers snagged it and ended up leaving biking in the dust—until recently. "I hadn't biked much since I started working at SLAC and had kids," Byers, the Department Manager of Chemical and General Safety, said. "After having surgery last year, I was looking to recover and help myself overcome stress at work in a positive way." When a friend tipped Byers about Team in Training, a national endurance sports program, he signed on for a big challenge. Along with 41 teammates, Byers will bike a 100-mile "century" ride around hilly Santa Barbara in March. Read more...	Uwe Bergmann to Speak at Café Scientifique by Kelen Tuttle Café Scientifique Silicon Valley, a local forum for debating science issues, will feature a lecture by SLAC's Uwe Bergmann at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 13. Bergmann will discuss the Archimedes Palimpsest, the last unreadable pages of Archimedes' treatises. Bergmann lead a team of scientists that used an imaging technique called x-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging to finally reveal the text, hidden from view since antiquity on a goatskin parchment manuscript. Since 1990, Bergmann has been an enthusiastic user of synchrotron radiation and has worked at numerous synchrotron facilities around the world. Bergmann joined SLAC in March 2003, and his research interests now focus on the development and application of novel synchrotron based x-ray techniques. Learn more about Café Scientifique here.	Events (see all \| submit) January 31: (4:00 p.m.) F. Parmigiani - Frontiers in Science with FELs: The FERMI@ELETTRA project February 1: (4:00 p.m.) SLAC Accelerator Seminar: QBA Lattice Design for Low Emittance Synchrotron Light Source Access (see all) Building 40 construction Alpine Gate & PEP Ring Road closed Gates 17 & 30 open 24-7 Research Yard bisected Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements New Publication: ESH Manual, Chapter 22, Waste Minimization Community Bulletin Board Free Folder Frenzy Festival Features Award-winning Children's Authors Lunar New Year Luncheon - Feb. 16 News (see all \| submit) Eye on Cosmos Is Lost to Short Circuit on Hubble NY Times U.S. House Throws Science a Lifeline Science Now
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