A new dawn for CMS

Supported by a gigantic crane and a factory-size room full of enthusiasm, the central barrel of CMS made its final journey underground on 28 February.

The central section of the CMS detector starts its dramatic 10-hour descent underground.

Several hours (and 100 metres) later, the massive barrel rests on the cavern floor.

CMS scientists, journalists, photographers and members of the transport crew basked in the final rays of the 'solenoid-set' on 28 February as the central barrel of the CMS detector sinks below the horizon and began its ten-hour descent into the cavern 100 metres below. Thirteen metres long and weighing as much as five jumbo jets (1920 tonnes), the barrel is the largest of the 15 chunks of CMS detector that are being lowered one by one into the cavern. 'This is a challenging feat of engineering, as there are just 20 cm of leeway between the detector and the walls of the shaft,' said Austin Ball, Technical Coordinator of CMS. The section of the detector, which contains the solenoid of the magnet, was suspended by four massive cables of 55 strands each, connected to a heavy-duty crane designed specifically for the job (see Bulletin No. 47/2006).

You can watch the movie of the descent:

https://cds.cern.ch/record/1019674