TRIUMF was established in 1968 as a laboratory operated and to be used
jointly by the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University, the
University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia. The
initial consortium has been expanded to include the University of
Manitoba, Université de Montréal, the University of Regina
and the University of Toronto as associate members. The facility
is also open to other Canadian as well as foreign users.
TRIUMF FACTS
| Construction: |
1968-1974 |
| Maximum beam energy: |
520 megaelectron-volts (mega=million) |
| First full-energy beam: |
15 December, 1974 |
| On-site personnel: |
About 350 employees. Up to 200 visiting scientists might also be
present on any given day when the cyclotron is operating. |
| Cyclotron building: |
Height = 26.5 m (87 ft); length = 147.5 m (484 ft); width = 33.5 m
(110 ft) |
TRIUMF's cyclotron is the world's largest. Its magnet's poles are
divided into six equal sectors, these being arranged in a "pinwheel"
formation when viewed from above - see TRIUMF's logo. The particles are
accelerated to very high speed. When any object approaches the speed of
light, it becomes more massive - an effect predicted by Einstein's
Relativity Theory; so those particles that are accelerated to maximum
energy in our cyclotron emerge with about 50% more mass than when
they started (i.e. part of the energy pumped into the particles turns
into mass, instead of contributing to their speed).
| Total magnet weight: |
4000 tonnes |
| Magnet diameter: |
18 m (59 ft) |
| Magnetic field: |
up to 6 kilogauss |
| Current required by magnet: |
about 18,500 amps |
| Electric field frequency: |
23 million cycles/second (23 MHz) |
| Maximum spiral turns by particles: |
1500 (particles travel up to 45 km - 28 miles - during
acceleration) |
| Time required for acceleration: |
326 microseconds (i.e. 1/3000 sec) |
| Speed of particles at max. energy: |
225,000 km/sec - 3/4 speed of light (that would take you from the
earth to moon in 2 seconds) |
| Number of particles accelerated: |
about 600 trillion/sec (6x1014). TRIUMF has one of the
world's three most intense proton beams in this energy range. |
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