Experimental Devices at NSCL

Beam-tracking detector for a vacuum chamber at the tail of the Reaction product mass separator (RPMS). more

Imagination, creativity and scientific knowledge are the lifeblood of nuclear physics research. But the equipment is the skeleton that brings form and substance to science.

NSCL has been at the forefront of developing technology that makes nuclear science a reality.

Beams of atomic nuclei are made in the ion source and accelerated in the K500 and K1200 cyclotrons. The rare isotopes, which are our specialty, are made in the A1900 fragment separator.

When the beam of rare isotopes hits the target, the reaction products are measured with special detectors. Protons and light atomic nuclei are detected in, various charged particle detectors, including the high resolution silicon strip detector array (HiRA). HiRA is often set up in the 92-inch diameter scattering chamber. Slowly moving neutrons are studied with the neutron emission ratio observer (NERO), neutrons with moderate speed in the neutron wall detectors, and fast neutrons in the modular neutron array. Gamma-rays are like light with an energy higher than x-rays. They are detected in a gamma-ray spectrometer. When we want to learn how the rare isotopes decay we can stop them in the low energy beam ion trap (LEBIT) or study then in the beta counting system. We can also measure their properties in a beta nuclear magnetic resonance station. The sweeper magnet and the S800 spectrograph measure the energy of even the fastest beams we make by bending them in powerful magnets.