Outreach
The Big Bang fair
As part of the Cockcroft Institute, ASTeC will be exhibiting at the Big Bang fair in Manchester (http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/whats_on.cfm). This is the largest science fair in the UK, and will take place at Manchester Central (formerly known as the GMEX) in March between Thursday 11th and Saturday 13th. The exhibit will feature a virtual reality flythrough of the ALICE 1 and EMMA 2 particle accelerators located at the Daresbury Laboratory, delivered in collaboration Virtalis (http://www.virtalis.com/ ), a world-leading Manchester-based industrial partner specialising in 3D visualisation. We will have a number of accelerator components, plus a host of experts with experience of a vast range of accelerator specialisms, ready to answer questions and talk visitors through the complexities of modern particle accelerators.
We will also have demonstrations of vacuum and its effects on everyday. This is always popular, and gives visitors a chance to see and understand how ‘normal’ everyday things change when air is removed from the environment.
Particle Physics Master Class
Following immediately from the Big Bang fair, ASTeC will play a leading role in the annual Particle Physics Master Class which will take place at Daresbury on March 15th and 16th. Groups of students from local schools will attend for a day of talks, practical demonstrations and challenges related to particle accelerators, including a hands-on experiment to measure the electron beam energy in the ALICE particle injection line. Towards the end of the day, there will be a short quiz to see how much students have learned, with prizes awarded to the winner. This is always a popular event, and further information can be obtained by contacting the coordinator, Alan Brown (alan.brown@stfc.ac.uk).
1 Accelerators and Lasers In Combined Experiments: ALICE is a unique particle accelerator because after first accelerating the electron beam, the beam is decelerated and the energy recovered and re-used on the next ‘shot’. ALICE is one of only four machines in the world capable of doing this.
2 Electron Model of Many Application: EMMA is a world-first in terms of accelerator design. Currently under construction, it is the first non-scaling fixed-field alternating gradient accelerator in the world. It has potential applications in cancer therapy, medical imaging and the generation of electricity.