Yale Wright Laboratory

Last updated

Yale Wright Laboratory (Wright Lab) is a facility and research community at Yale University in New Haven, CT. Wright Lab enables researchers to develop, build and use research instrumentation for experiments in nuclear, particle and astrophysics across the globe that investigate the invisible universe. Before a transformation to its current purpose in 2017, Wright Lab was known as the Arthur W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory (WNSL). WNSL housed the first "Emperor" tandem Van de Graaff heavy ion accelerator [1] and was founded by D. Allan Bromley, the "father of heavy-ion physics," in 1961 [2] (see History, below, for more information).

Contents

Facilities

Wright Lab is named for Arthur Williams Wright, who was awarded one of the first three Ph.D.s in science in the Americas (all of which were awarded by Yale University in 1861). [3] The building complex joins two buildings that were constructed and renovated at different times, for different purposes, yet always related to Yale physics research.

History

The history of Wright Lab begins with the creation of accelerator physics in the 1920s, continues with the creation of the Arthur W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory (WNSL) to operate the Yale MP-1 "Emperor" tandem Van de Graaff heavy ion accelerator from 1966 until 2011, and continues further with its transformation into the new Wright Lab, which was dedicated in 2017, to enable Wright Lab's research program in nuclear, particle and astrophysics. A brief timeline is below.

Timeline of Yale Wright Laboratory History
1926 Earnest Lawrence started forming the concept underlying the cyclotron in 1926, when he was an instructor at Yale. [4]
1930sA version of Lawrence’s cyclotron was built at Yale by Earnest Pollard and Howard Schultz. [4]
1940sAn early linear accelerator (linac) for electrons was built at Yale in the 1940’s by Schultz and Carol Montgomery. [4]
1950sA heavy ion linac was designed and built at Yale in the 1950’s by Robert Beringer and others, with physics results starting in 1958. [4]
1961 D. Allan Bromley initiates design of the first MP (Emperor) tandem electrostatic accelerator. [3]
1962Yale submits a proposal for construction of Emperor accelerator to Atomic Energy Commission: Construction contract signed with High Voltage Engineering, Dec. 27, 1962. [3]
1964A research contract for $781,000 was awarded to Yale University and D.A. Bromley for the Emperor Tandem Van de Graaff Research Program. [5]
1964-66A. W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory (WNSL) and the first MP tandem accelerator (MP-1) were constructed at Yale. Dedication October 5, 1966. [3] [6] [7] In the following years, several other MP accelerators were built in North America [8] and in Europe. [9]
1965-67Joint Study program involving WNSL at Yale and T.J. Watson Laboratory of IBM results in state-of-the-art data acquisition and control system at Wright Laboratory. [3]
1967First WNSL research papers published. [10]
1974The performance of MP tandem accelerator was upgraded through installation of new stainless steel acceleration tubes. [3]
1978A proposal for conversion of Yale MP tandem accelerator to STU status was submitted to Department of Energy. [3]
1982DOE approves MP-ESTU conversion on July, 1982. [3]
1983The New York Times publishes an article about the upgrade on August 4, 1983. [11]
1985Research activity with MP tandem accelerator was terminated May 29, 1985 and conversion program was initiated. [3]
1987Terminal potential of 22.4 million volts was reached on July 4, 1987. Dedication of ESTU-1 accelerator facility, August 7, 1987. [3]
2011Operation of the ESTU tandem ends. [3]
2013Decommissioning of the ESTU and associated equipment begins. The Wright Lab’s new Director, Karsten Heeger, begins renovations of the facility as well as a new research program in nuclear, particle and astrophysics. [3]
2016The newly renovated Wright Lab opens for personnel. [3]
2017The Wright Lab’s public Opening Ceremony is held on May 16, 2017. [3]

Directors of WNSL and Wright Lab

Directors of WNSL and Wright Lab
NameYears served
D. Allan Bromley 1961-1989
Peter Parker1989-1995
Francesco Iachello 1995
Rick Casten1995-2008
John W. Harris 2008-2010
O. Keith Baker 2010-2013
Karsten Heeger 2013–present

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CERN</span> European research centre in Switzerland

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Geneva, on the France–Switzerland border. It comprises 23 member states. Israel, admitted in 2013, is the only non-European full member. CERN is an official United Nations General Assembly observer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van de Graaff generator</span> Electrostatic particle accelerator operating on the triboelectric effect

A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column, creating very high electric potentials. It produces very high voltage direct current (DC) electricity at low current levels. It was invented by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff in 1929. The potential difference achieved by modern Van de Graaff generators can be as much as 5 megavolts. A tabletop version can produce on the order of 100 kV and can store enough energy to produce visible electric sparks. Small Van de Graaff machines are produced for entertainment, and for physics education to teach electrostatics; larger ones are displayed in some science museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookhaven National Laboratory</span> United States Department of Energy national laboratory

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, Long Island a hamlet of the Town of Brookhaven. It was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base. Located approximately 60 miles east of New York City, it is managed by Stony Brook University and Battelle Memorial Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accelerator mass spectrometry</span> Accelerator that accelerates ions to high speeds before analysis

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a form of mass spectrometry that accelerates ions to extraordinarily high kinetic energies before mass analysis. The special strength of AMS among the different methods of mass spectrometry is its ability to separate a rare isotope from an abundant neighboring mass. The method suppresses molecular isobars completely and in many cases can also separate atomic isobars. This makes possible the detection of naturally occurring, long-lived radio-isotopes such as 10Be, 36Cl, 26Al and 14C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. Allan Bromley</span> Canadian-American physicist

David Allan Bromley was a Canadian-American physicist, academic administrator and science advisor to President George H. W. Bush. His field of research was the study of low-energy nuclear reactions and structure using heavy ion beams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System</span> Particle accelerator

The Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) is a U.S. Department of Energy scientific user facility at Argonne National Laboratory. ATLAS is the first superconducting linear accelerator for heavy ions at energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier and is open to scientists from all over the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos"</span> Greek research center

The National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos" is a research center in Greece, employing over 1,000 researchers, engineers, technicians and administrative personnel. It focuses on several fields of natural sciences and engineering and hosts laboratory facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Williams Wright</span> American physicist (1836–1915)

Arthur Williams Wright was an American physicist. Wright spent most of his scientific career at Yale University, where he received the first science Ph.D. awarded outside of Europe. His research, which ranged from electricity to astronomy, produced the first X-ray image and experimented with Röntgen rays. He also proved instrumental in securing funding for the first dedicated physics laboratory building in the United States, the Sloane Physical Laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternating Gradient Synchrotron</span> Particle accelerator at Brookhaven National Laboratory

The Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) is a particle accelerator located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daresbury Laboratory</span> Laboratory in Halton, Cheshire, UK

Daresbury Laboratory is a scientific research laboratory based at Sci-Tech Daresbury campus near Daresbury in Halton, Cheshire, England. The laboratory began operations in 1962 and was officially opened on 16 June 1967 as the Daresbury Nuclear Physics Laboratory (DNPL) by the then Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Harold Wilson. It was the second national laboratory established by the British National Institute for Research in Nuclear Science, following the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory. It is operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, part of UK Research and Innovation. As of 2018, it employs around 300 staff, with Paul Vernon appointed as director in November 2020, taking over from Professor Susan Smith who had been director from 2012.

The Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, abbreviated as TUNL, is a tripartite research consortium operated by Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University. The laboratory is located on the West Campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Researchers are now drawn from several other universities around the United States in addition to members from the founding universities. TUNL also participates in long term collaborations with universities and laboratories around the world. Funding for TUNL comes primarily from the United States Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Physics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denys Wilkinson Building</span>

The Denys Wilkinson Building is a prominent 1960s building in Oxford, England, designed by Philip Dowson at Arup in 1967.

Charles Kincaid Bockelman was an American nuclear physicist and deputy provost of Yale University. He was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electrostatic particle accelerator</span> Accelerates particles with a static electric field

An electrostatic particle accelerator is a particle accelerator in which charged particles are accelerated to a high energy by a static high voltage potential. This contrasts with the other major category of particle accelerator, oscillating field particle accelerators, in which the particles are accelerated by oscillating electric fields.

Albert Edward "Ted" Litherland is a nuclear physicist, known for his pioneering work in accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science Hill (Yale University)</span> Area of the Yale University campus

Science Hill is an area of the Yale University campus primarily devoted to physical and biological sciences. It is located in the Prospect Hill neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut.

Walter Greiner was a German theoretical physicist. His research interests lay in atomic physics, heavy ion physics, nuclear physics, elementary particle physics. He is known for his series of books in theoretical physics, particularly in Germany but also around the world.

The Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro is one of the four major research centers of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN). The primary focus of research at this laboratory is in the fields of nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics, where five accelerators are currently used. It is one of the most important facilities in Italy for research in these fields. The main future project of the laboratory is the Selective Production of Exotic Species (SPES), in which various radionuclides will be produced for research and medicinal purposes.

Richard Francis Xavier Casten is an American nuclear physicist. He serves as the D. Allan Bromley Professor Emeritus of Physics at Yale University, where he was also the director of the Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory from 1995 to 2008. He is known for his research in nuclear structure and radioactive nuclear beams. He is also known for Casten's triangle, which was introduced in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koffler accelerator</span>

The Koffler particle accelerator of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, was built in 1976. The building became a symbol of the institute. In 2011, astronomical observatory was opened on the top of the building.

References

  1. Bromley, D. A. (1969-05-01). "The Emperor Tandem at Yale". Le Journal de Physique Colloques. 30 (C2): C2–C2–46. doi:10.1051/jphyscol:1969206. ISSN   0449-1947. Archived from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  2. Casten, Richard F.; Lane, Neal (2005-09-01). "David Allan Bromley". Physics Today. 58 (9): 73–74. Bibcode:2005PhT....58i..73C. doi: 10.1063/1.2117834 . ISSN   0031-9228.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Misenti, Victoria (2018-02-14). "History". Wright Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Welcome | Beam Physics Lab". bpl.yale.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  5. Research Contracts in the Physical Sciences. A.E.C. Division of Research. 1964. Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  6. Lubkin, Gloria B. (1966-10-01). "Nuclear-structure Emperor operating at Yale". Physics Today. 19 (10): 81–85. Bibcode:1966PhT....19j..81L. doi:10.1063/1.3047775. ISSN   0031-9228. Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  7. Casten, R. F. (2000-01-01). "The Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory at Yale". Nuclear Physics News. 10 (2): 4–11. Bibcode:2000NPNew..10....4C. doi:10.1080/10506890009411524. ISSN   1061-9127. S2CID   121562351.
  8. Wegner, H.E.; Thieberger, P. (1977). "North-American MP tandem accelerators". Revue de Physique Appliquée. 12 (10): 1291–1301. doi:10.1051/rphysap:0197700120100129100. ISSN   0035-1687. Archived from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  9. Skorka, S.J. (1977). "The European MP-Tandems". Revue de Physique Appliquée. 12 (10): 1279–1290. doi:10.1051/rphysap:0197700120100127900. ISSN   0035-1687. Archived from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  10. Casten, R. F.; Greenberg, J. S.; Burginyon, G. A.; Bromley, D. A. (1967-05-22). "Experimental Tests of Recent Pairing-Plus-Quadrupole Model Calculations in the Osmium Nuclei". Physical Review Letters. 18 (21): 912–915. Bibcode:1967PhRvL..18..912C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.18.912. Archived from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  11. Ap (1983-08-04). "U.S. WILL GIVE YALE $11 MILLION TO BUILD NUCLEAR ACCELERATOR". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.