California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Caltech Synchrotron Laboratory papers, 1949-1970
Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Caltech Synchrotron Laboratory papers,
- Dates:
- 1949-1970
- Creators:
- California Institute of Technology. Synchrotron Laboratory
- Abstract:
- These papers document Caltech's building of a one-billion volt (1 BeV) electron accelerator, the synchrotron. Funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the project marked the beginning of high energy physics at Caltech. The records consist of photos, technical notes, reports, conference proceedings, and proposals to the Atomic Energy Commission.
- Extent:
- 3.5 linear feet
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item, box and file number], Caltech Synchrotron Laboratory papers, Archives, California Institute of Technology.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Proposals, technical notes, reports, correspondence, specifications, reprints and photos; materials relating to the Atomic Energy Commission; materials on the Rochester Conferences on Ultrahigh Energy Accelerators (1952, 1955, 1956, 1960); plus other conferences and organizations.
- Biographical / historical:
-
In the Spring of 1949, the Institute announced plans to build a one-billion volt ("1 BeV") electron accelerator. Robert Bacher, chairman of Caltech's Physics Division, stated: "The purpose of the new accelerator will be to seek additional knowledge about the nature of the forces that hold atomic nuclei together." The new accelerator, the synchrotron, would be the most powerful machine of its type ever built. The funding of the project by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission marked the beginning of high energy physics at Caltech.
The synchrotron was the successor to the cyclotron--developed in 1932 by E.O. Lawrence--in that it extended the voltage range of high energy accelerators by the application of new physical principles. These were developed independently in 1945 by Edwin M. McMillan at Berkeley (Caltech B.A. 1928, M.S. 1929, Ph.D. 1932) and V. Veksler in Russia. McMillan later won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1951 and the Atoms for Peace Prize jointly with Veksler in 1963.
The Caltech machine went into preliminary use in the summer of 1950. By 1956 it had been modified to increase its energy level to above 1 BeV. In 1961, it reached 1.5 BeV, accelerating electrons to within a few feet per second of the speed of light. Important early experiments were conducted on K-meson photoproduction, and investigations of the electromagnetic couplings of a growing number of pion-nucleon resonances were carried out. Over the years, the program concentrated largely on studies of photoproduction processes in the available energy region.
Operation of the synchrotron ended in February, 1970. Well before this time, it had become evident that collaborative efforts in experimental work were more efficient because of the complexity of the work involved and the cost of the equipment. A user program, initiated in 1962, linked Caltech with Berkeley's Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, and other universities. The user program continued to expand, as accelerators entered a "super" category in both size and cost.
- Charlotte Erwin
- Assistant Archivist
- November 1989
- Rev. August 1998, June 2000
- Acquisition information:
- The synchrotron papers were donated to the Caltech Archives by Professor Robert L. Walker.
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Particle accelerators--United States--California
Proton accelerators--Research
Synchrotrons--United States--California
Laboratory notebooks
Photographs
Reports - Names:
- California Institute of Technology
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Rochester Conference on Ultrahigh Energy Accelerators, 1952
Rochester Conference on Ultrahigh Energy Accelerators, 1955
Rochester Conference on Ultrahigh Energy Accelerators, 1956
Rochester Conference on Ultrahigh Energy Accelerators, 1960
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 2003
- Date Encoded:
- Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: November 1989; updated August 1998, June 2000.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright may not have been assigned to the California Institute of Technology Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the California Institute of Technology Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item, box and file number], Caltech Synchrotron Laboratory papers, Archives, California Institute of Technology.
- Location of this collection:
-
1200 E. California Blvd.
MC B215-74
Pasadena, CA 91125, US
- Contact:
- (626) 395-2704
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright may not have been assigned to the California Institute of Technology Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the California Institute of Technology Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item, box and file number], Caltech Synchrotron Laboratory papers, Archives, California Institute of Technology.
- Location of this collection:
-
1200 E. California Blvd.MC B215-74Pasadena, CA 91125, US
- Contact:
- (626) 395-2704