Scanning tableDetectorCERN-OBJ-DE-029Before the invention of wire chambers, particles tracks were analysed on scanning tables like this one. Today, the process is electronic and much faster. Bubble chamber film - currently available - (links can be found below) was used for this analysis of the particle tracks. 1960http://cds.cern.ch/record/43924http://cds.cern.ch/record/43924oai:cds.cern.ch:43924
Bubble chamber filmDetectorCERN-OBJ-DE-005Boxes of bubble chamber film showing photographs of particle collisions. The particle tracks were then analysed on scanning tables (see object CERN-OBJ-DE-029). We have a selection of bubble chamber film available for loan, including some from the Big European Bubble Chamber (BEBC).1960s & 1970shttp://cds.cern.ch/record/43837http://cds.cern.ch/record/43837oai:cds.cern.ch:43837
UA1 prototype detectorDetectorCERN-OBJ-DE-001Prototype of UA1 central detector inside a plexi tube. The UA1 experiment ran at CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron and made the Nobel Prize winning discovery of W and Z particles in 1983. The UA1 central detector was crucial to understanding the complex topology of proton-antiproton events. It played a most important role in identifying a handful of Ws and Zs among billions of collisions. The detector was essentially a wire chamber - a 6-chamber cylindrical assembly 5.8 m long and 2.3 m in diameter, the largest imaging drift chamber of its day. It recorded the tracks of charged particles curving in a 0.7 Tesla magnetic field, measuring their momentum, the sign of their electric charge and their rate of energy loss (dE/dx). Atoms in the argon-ethane gas mixture filling the chambers were ionised by the passage of charged particles. The electrons which were released drifted along an electric field shaped by field wires and were collected on sense wires. The geometrical arrangement of the 17000 field wires and 6125 sense wires allowed a spectacular 3-D interactive display of reconstructed physics events to be produced.1980http://cds.cern.ch/record/43830http://cds.cern.ch/record/43830oai:cds.cern.ch:43830Needs some repairs
engWire chamberDetectorCERN-OBJ-DE-050Multi-wire detectors contain layers of positively and negatively charged wires enclosed in a chamber full of gas. A charged particle passing through the chamber knocks negatively charged electrons out of atoms in the gas, leaving behind positive ions. The electrons are pulled towards the positively charged wires. They collide with other atoms on the way, producing an avalanche of electrons and ions. The movement of these electrons and ions induces an electric pulse in the wires which is collected by fast electronics. The size of the pulse is proportional to the energy loss of the original particle.2000-07-12T22:00:00Zhttp://cds.cern.ch/record/43968http://cds.cern.ch/record/43968oai:cds.cern.ch:43968
Wire ChamberDetectorCERN-OBJ-DE-041Magnetoscriptive readout wire chamber. Multi-wire detectors contain layers of positively and negatively charged wires enclosed in a chamber full of gas. A charged particle passing through the chamber knocks negatively charged electrons out of atoms in the gas, leaving behind positive ions. The electrons are pulled towards the positively charged wires. They collide with other atoms on the way, producing an avalanche of electrons and ions. The movement of these electrons and ions induces an electric pulse in the wires which is collected by fast electronics. The size of the pulse is proportional to the energy loss of the original particle.1999-08-17T22:00:00Zhttp://cds.cern.ch/record/43958http://cds.cern.ch/record/43958oai:cds.cern.ch:43958
engObelix Wire ChamberDetectorCERN-OBJ-DE-071Two wire chambers made originally for the R807 Experiment at CERN's Intersecting Storage Rings. In 1986 they were used for the PS 201 experiment (Obelix Experiment) at LEAR, the Low Energy Antiproton Ring. The group of researchers from Turin, using the chambers at that time, changed the acquisition system using for the first time 8 bit (10 bit non linear) analog to digital conversion for incoming signals from the chambers. The acquisition system was controlled by 54 CPU and 80 digital signal processors. The power required for all the electronics was 40 kW. For the period, this system was one of the most powerful on-line apparatus in the world. The Obelix Experiment was closed in 1996. To find more about how a wire chamber works, see the description for object CERN-OBJ-DE-038.1986http://cds.cern.ch/record/44001http://cds.cern.ch/record/44001oai:cds.cern.ch:44001These 2 wire chambers are spectacular. Holes can be cut to reveal the wires behind the layers of electronics.
PS wire chamberDetectorCERN-OBJ-DE-038Three pieces. Wire chambers used for the beams at CERN's Proton Synchrotron accelerator in the 1970s. Multi-wire detectors contain layers of positively and negatively charged wires enclosed in a chamber Multi-wire detectors contain layers of positively and negatively charged wires enclosed in a chamber full of gas. A charged particle passing through the chamber knocks negatively charged electrons out of atoms in the gas, leaving behind positive ions. The electrons are pulled towards the positively charged wires. They collide with other atoms on the way, producing an avalanche of electrons and ions. The movement of these electrons and ions induces an electric pulse in the wires which is collected by fast electronics. The size of the pulse is proportional to the energy loss of the original particle. 1970http://cds.cern.ch/record/43955http://cds.cern.ch/record/43955oai:cds.cern.ch:43955<!--HTML--><U>Previous exhibition venues</U>: <br />- University of Paris (October 1999)