SLAC Today is
available online at:
http://today.slac.stanford.edu
In this issue:
BaBar Re-feathers its Nest
Profile: Martin Berndt: Cross-country Biker
Annual Run & Walk Takes Place Tomorrow
Save the Date: SLAC Holiday Party
Wednesday - November 15, 2006 |
BaBar Re-feathers its NestLike a bird in molt, the BaBar detector is temporarily vulnerable while it acquires better plumage. At the end of the summer, crews opened the "doors" that seal the front end of the detector, exposing its belly. In a delicate operation, the collaboration has been putting new muon detectors in four of the six sides of the 3-story-tall hexagon that makes up the overall detector's outer layer. With the final sextant successfully installed on Monday, BaBar now sports a vastly improved system for identifying muons and reconstructing rare but important decays. "This is the most invasive change to BaBar in its history. The detector was not designed to be taken apart. It's tricky," said LST commissioner Mark Convery. The performance of the original muon detectors, called Resistive Plate Chambers, declined unexpectedly and steadily soon after BaBar turned on in 1999. By 2002 it had become clear they could not be saved. "We had no choice but to replace them, even though the project would require an enormous effort by BaBar and SLAC engineering and technical staff under severe time pressure," reported former BaBar spokesperson Stewart Smith of Princeton University. Read more... |
||
Martin Berndt:
|
Annual Run & Walk Takes Place TomorrowThis year's SLAC Run and Walk takes place tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. Don't miss it! No registration is necessary and everyone is invited to join in, cheer on the participants, or just buy a t-shirt ($10 each, sizes s, m, l, xl and xxl). The runners' course is officially 3.8 miles and 66.5 feet, while the walkers travel two miles. A map of the course can be found online or at the event. Registration starts at 11:45 a.m. on the south side of the Klystron Gallery at Sector 30, and the run starts at 12:05 p.m. sharp, rain or shine. For complete details, visit the Run and Walk webpage. Save the Date:
|
Events (see all | submit)
Access (see all)
Announcements
|
| ||
<%
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/. |