Nimrod (National Institute Machine Radiating on Downs, "the Mighty Hunter"
Nimrod
Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...
; name attributed to W. Galbraith) was a 7 GeV
proton synchrotron
A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator, descended from the cyclotron, in which the accelerating particle beam travels around a fixed closed-loop path. The magnetic field which bends the particle beam into its closed p ...
operating in the
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) is one of the national scientific research laboratories in the UK operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). It began as the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory, merged with the Atl ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
between 1964 and 1978. Nimrod delivered its last particles at 17:00 hrs on 6 June 1978. Although roughly contemporary with the
CERN PS its conservative design used the "weak focussing" principle instead of the much more cost-effective "strong-focussing" technique, which would have enabled a machine of the same cost to reach much higher energies.
The design and construction of Nimrod was carried out at a capital cost of approximately £11 million. It was used for studies of
nuclear
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
* Nuclear ...
and
sub-nuclear
phenomena.
Nimrod was dismantled and the space it occupied reused for the synchrotron of the
ISIS neutron source.
Magnet power supply
The magnet power supply included 2 motor-alternator-flywheel sets. Each drive motor was 5,000 HP. Each flywheel was 30 tonnes. Each alternator was 60 MVA 12.8kV. Magnet currents would pulse at 10,550 A.
Status report on Nimrod ...
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References
http://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk/about-isis/target-station-2/publications/issue-1-september-20038209.pdf
Nuclear research institutes
Particle physics facilities
Research institutes in Oxfordshire
Synchrotron radiation facilities
Vale of White Horse
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