Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 2 December 2008 | 456, 555 (2008) | doi:10.1038/456555a
News
Can triniobium tin shrink accelerators?
Exotic superconductors promise savings.
The superconducting cavities that drive most of the world's particle accelerators are running out of room for improvement. But new theoretical work suggests that overlooked superconducting materials could be used to make cavities that accelerate particles to higher energies over shorter distances — thereby doing the job more cheaply.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
Comments to Nature article entitled ?Can triniobium tin shrink accelerators?? After reading the article ?Can triniobium can shrink accelerators?? I would like to add some comments. It is very unfortunate and not understandable that SRF- community is so closed to the new ideas and changes. The year ago FNAL and DESY were testing the new process for improving finish of niobium cavities namely ?magnetoelectropolishing?, which potentially can speed up , simplify, make more safety, result in huge savings and even accelerate particles to higher gradient. Preliminary test results were presented by Dr. C.A. Cooper during internal FNAL, 3.9 GHz Engineering Meeting Monday 08 October 2007 (3.9GHz Engineering meeting (08 October 2007) The ?magnetoelectropolishing? process carried out in new electrolyte composition have speeded up dissolution of niobium about 15 times faster with comparable roughness finish to conventional electropolishing presently used by all national laboratories around the world of Ra = 0.1 micron. What was even more astonishing was fact that ?magnetoelectropolishing? process not only prevented hydrogen uptake when compared to conventional electropolishing, but decreased hydrogen content in niobium samples as received (test performed by DESY). In spite of tests results any further action were undertaken by SRF-community to peruse further and deeper this new promising process and new electrolyte composition. Instead the old so called Siemens process (1971) adapted from even earlier known electrolyte (Tegart 1956) are worked out over and over again for last four decades. One reasonable explanation for not pursue this process by FNAL was the budget cut in the beginning of 2008 and suspension of ILC project. Taking under consideration mention above preliminary test results of ?magnetoelectropolishing? process with new electrolyte composition seems to make the first sentence of the article ?Can triniobium can shrink accelerators?? meaningless. We have still plenty of room for improvement of existing niobium cavities and we should not abandon, but try to incorporate the new ideas, which could lead to further their improvement. On the other hand science should not hide out from totally fresh ideas and every reasonable challenge should be undertaken, which could push existing boundary to the new levels Ryszard Rokicki ELECTROBRIGHT 142 W. Main St. Macungie, Pa 18062 Email: info@electrobright.com Phone: (610) 967-5800