Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
News from RHIC
Stephen Musolino
The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is nearing completion and
moving towards commissioning of the collider and experiments. There is
still much work ahead to complete the safety analysis of the complex and
turn the results into operations procedures and training.
The Department of Energy conducted an Independent Safety Review of the
preparations to complete all the necessary reviews to start
commissioning and eventually lead to routine operation of the complex.
Initial cooldown of the cryogenic system is scheduled to commence in
December,1998 with colliding gold beams expected in January, 1999. After this
initial operation of the collider there will be a shutdown followed by
an engineering run with beam to test detector systems and finalize
collider commissioning. Then in FY2000 the completed complex will enter
into an extended run for physics. It is expected that the predicted
quark-gluon state of matter will be discovered.
After all the media attention over the past year that the Laboratory has
received over the environmental practices in the decades that proceed
the promulgation of the environmental laws, interestingly one of the
most significant ES&H aspects of RHIC has been with respect to
groundwater protection. It is a reflection of where the attitudes
about radiation has gone in society. We will commit significant
resources to meet the EPA drinking water standards in water that the
laws of nature will prevent any person from ever drinking. One RHIC
physicist put it very well, "In the past we used to use the earth to
protect us, now we must protect the earth."
Seen on RadSafe:
"Beneath this chaos is a really big mess." - Jim Davis
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