SSRL Channels Christo

(Photo by Brad Plummer.)

by Kelen Tuttle

Formerly a parking lot, the center of the circular Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource recently transformed into a glistening lake. Just don't make the mistake of diving in; instead of water, this lake is made of rippling sheets of aluminized Mylar.

During the last week of June, a crew of SSRL mechanical technicians spent the early morning hours attaching the thin, reflective polyester film to the parking lot asphalt with screws and duct tape. The 13,500 square foot, 0.05 millimeter thick installation is a very big, very bright experiment: the theory is that as sun's rays heat the asphalt, it expands and nudges the concrete slabs under the accelerator, upsetting beam alignment. By reflecting sunlight away from the asphalt, the researchers hope to see a decrease in motion under the accelerator.

(Photo by Brad Plummer.)

Limiting this sort of displacement is more important than ever, said SSRL mechanical systems supervisor Ben Scott, because the accelerator's performance has improved significantly over the past years. Beam stability at SSRL is now so good that small shifts, such as the displacement of the concrete slabs, have become noticeable.

"These are really very subtle effects," said beamline development group leader Tom Rabedeau. "The final results are not yet in."

If the experiment shows that the motion is indeed due to sunlight on the asphalt, the researchers will need to devise a permanent solution. If they find that the asphalt isn't a significant impact, Rabedeau said, attention will turn to understanding other nearby environmental influences such as research yard earth berms or End Station A. "More data and more analysis are needed to say for sure," he said.

FY 2010 House Appropriations Bill—DOE Office of Science

from The AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News

The U.S. House of Representatives is now considering its version of the FY 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. Approved by the full House Appropriations Committee a week ago, the report accompanying the House bill, S. 1436, was just released. This report provides funding and policy recommendations for the Department of Energy's Office of Science. Read more from the AIP Bulletin...

Recycling Tip of the Week:
Scrap Wood

by Micki DeCamara

Untreated wood, such as wood from pallets or shipping crates, can be recycled. The SLAC Facilities Department stages a bin on site for recycling untreated wood and can order additional containers for large projects. Please contact the SLAC Facilities department (x8901) to request a container or to ask about suitability for recycling

Wood treated with a chemical preservative—for example pressure-treated boards and posts—must be disposed of properly as hazardous waste. Please coordinate treated wood disposal with the Waste Management department.

Please direct questions on SLAC's recycling program to Micki DeCamara (x2348).

Events

Jul 13–17 TeV Particle Astrophysics
Jul 16-17 (8:00 a.m.) SLAC in the LHC Era—Ambitions from the SLUO Community
Jul 17 (1:30 p.m.) Theoretical Physics Seminar: A Dynamical Alternative to Inelastic Dark Matter

Access (see all)

No Access Notices Today

Announcements
(see all | submit)

Lab Announcements

Community Bulletin Board

Training (calendar | register)

Lab Training

Today (9:00 a.m.) Cryogenic and Oxygen Deficiency Safety
Today (10:00 a.m.)
Rad Worker Practical
Today (11:00 a.m.) Hazardous Waste Management Refresher

Upcoming Workshops & Classes

Excel and Word 2007 Classes

News (submit)

U.S., China Announce Clean Energy Research Center Huffington Post
Planck Heads to Its Final Destination after Successful Launch CERN Courier
LIGO: Quantum Goes Massive Physorg
'Copernicium' Proposed as Name for Newly Discovered Element 112 Physorg

<% Response.AddHeader "Last-modified", getArticleDate() 'Response.AddHeader "Last-modified","Mon, 01 Sep 1997 01:03:33 GMT" 'Monday, December 06, 2010 %>

View online at http://today.slac.stanford.edu/.

SSRL Channels Christo (Photo by Brad Plummer.) by Kelen Tuttle Formerly a parking lot, the center of the circular Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource recently transformed into a glistening lake. Just don't make the mistake of diving in; instead of water, this lake is made of rippling sheets of aluminized Mylar. During the last week of June, a crew of SSRL mechanical technicians spent the early morning hours attaching the thin, reflective polyester film to the parking lot asphalt with screws and duct tape. The 13,500 square foot, 0.05 millimeter thick installation is a very big, very bright experiment: the theory is that as sun's rays heat the asphalt, it expands and nudges the concrete slabs under the accelerator, upsetting beam alignment. By reflecting sunlight away from the asphalt, the researchers hope to see a decrease in motion under the accelerator. (Photo by Brad Plummer.) Limiting this sort of displacement is more important than ever, said SSRL mechanical systems supervisor Ben Scott, because the accelerator's performance has improved significantly over the past years. Beam stability at SSRL is now so good that small shifts, such as the displacement of the concrete slabs, have become noticeable. "These are really very subtle effects," said beamline development group leader Tom Rabedeau. "The final results are not yet in." If the experiment shows that the motion is indeed due to sunlight on the asphalt, the researchers will need to devise a permanent solution. If they find that the asphalt isn't a significant impact, Rabedeau said, attention will turn to understanding other nearby environmental influences such as research yard earth berms or End Station A. "More data and more analysis are needed to say for sure," he said. FY 2010 House Appropriations Bill—DOE Office of Science from The AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News The U.S. House of Representatives is now considering its version of the FY 2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. Approved by the full House Appropriations Committee a week ago, the report accompanying the House bill, S. 1436, was just released. This report provides funding and policy recommendations for the Department of Energy's Office of Science. Read more from the AIP Bulletin... Recycling Tip of the Week: Scrap Wood by Micki DeCamara Untreated wood, such as wood from pallets or shipping crates, can be recycled. The SLAC Facilities Department stages a bin on site for recycling untreated wood and can order additional containers for large projects. Please contact the SLAC Facilities department (x8901) to request a container or to ask about suitability for recycling Wood treated with a chemical preservative—for example pressure-treated boards and posts—must be disposed of properly as hazardous waste. Please coordinate treated wood disposal with the Waste Management department. Please direct questions on SLAC's recycling program to Micki DeCamara (x2348).	Events Jul 13–17 TeV Particle Astrophysics Jul 16-17 (8:00 a.m.) SLAC in the LHC Era—Ambitions from the SLUO Community Jul 17 (1:30 p.m.) Theoretical Physics Seminar: A Dynamical Alternative to Inelastic Dark Matter Access (see all) No Access Notices Today Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements Stanford Siren Test Aug 7 Microsoft Office Web Components Vulnerability Community Bulletin Board Call for Applications: Al Ashley Fellowship LTD-13 Workshop Jul 20-24 Training (calendar \| register) Lab Training Today (9:00 a.m.) Cryogenic and Oxygen Deficiency Safety Today (10:00 a.m.) Rad Worker Practical Today (11:00 a.m.) Hazardous Waste Management Refresher Upcoming Workshops & Classes Excel and Word 2007 Classes News (submit) U.S., China Announce Clean Energy Research Center Huffington Post Planck Heads to Its Final Destination after Successful Launch CERN Courier LIGO: Quantum Goes Massive Physorg 'Copernicium' Proposed as Name for Newly Discovered Element 112 Physorg
	Flea Market Linear Café Menu Employee Milestones Search the Archives Subscribe non-SLAC e-mail Send Us Your Feedback

<% Response.AddHeader "Last-modified", getArticleDate() 'Response.AddHeader "Last-modified","Mon, 01 Sep 1997 01:03:33 GMT" 'Monday, December 06, 2010 %> View online at http://today.slac.stanford.edu/.


	Thursday - July 16, 2009