Undeground Newspaper

[beamjockey]

Not only my picture, but also my byline, made it into today's issue of Fermilab Today.

If you've wondered what I've been up to (down to?) lately, part of it is getting NUMI ready to run safely, so that the Speaker of the House could press a magic button, sending neutrinos to Minnesota

Comments

[gomeza]

Don't think of it is as a weapon. Did you ever consider that there might be a shortage of neutrinos in Minnesota?

[beamjockey]

I like this idea.

[beamjockey]

He has been entirely helpful and supportive in our efforts to fire neutrinos into Minnesota. He does not, so far as I know, harbor any animosity toward the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.

Perhaps I should point out that Rep. Dennis Hastert (R, IL) is not only the Speaker of the House but the Representative from the district which contains Fermilab.

[purpletigron]

Surely you have robot dogs to go in a measure the doses? (Dr Who resumes on UK TV at Easter :-)

[beamjockey]

No.

Although I know a guy who is working on one.

On the other hand, our ion-chamber detectors are, for reasons which are obscure to me, known as "chipmunks."

We used an array of eight chipmunks to do the measurement, counting for about ten minutes, then dragging them to a new position, until we'd mapped 400 feet of tunnel.

Chipmunks and extension cords. Lots of extension cords.

But no dogs.

[fivemack]

Eep.

Furthermore, boggle.

You've got *neutrino* flux sufficient to detect using ion chambers for ten minutes.

How collimated is the beam? Can you say at the end of the experiment that you've created some measurable (with precision balance) quantity of new mineral wealth from neutrino interactions in the 450km of rock?

[beamjockey]

You've got *neutrino* flux sufficient to detect using ion chambers for ten minutes.Oh, dear

[del_c]

Then they cruise along for as far as we can allow them. In NUMI, it's 725 meters, most of which is an evacuated pipe 2 m in diameter. (The energy released if a window ruptures is entertaining to contemplate.)

240 megajoules? That's not too many.

[jrittenhouse]

We used an array of eight chipmunks to do the measurement, counting for about ten minutes, then dragging them to a new position, until we'd mapped 400 feet of tunnel.

I only have one marmot, so tunneling will take longer.

[vosque]

Is it wrong that I first read that as MANOS? I think my brain is trying to insert absurdity into my day.

[del_c]

I always think there should have been an early computer called MINAC.

[beamjockey]

"Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search," the Main Injector being the 120 billion electron volt proton accelerator that also feeds the Tevatron collider and the antiproton factory.

Given the weird nature of neutrinos, I scarcely think your brain needs to manufacture extra absurdity.