Fermilab's Greatest Hits: Highlights from the First 50 Years

Tevatron

Fermilab's second great accelerator, which significantly increased collision energies and led to the discovery of the bottom quark and top quark.

@ 31:41

Superconducting Magnets

Advanced magnets used in the Tevatron that allow for much higher magnetic fields and greater particle energies.

@ 32:38

Helium refrigerator

A large refrigerator system required to maintain the extremely low temperatures needed for superconducting magnets in the Tevatron.

@ 34:26

Silicon microvertex detectors

Advanced detector technology enabling precise localization of charged particles, crucial for studying short-lived particles.

@ 38:30

Prairie restoration

Efforts at Fermilab to restore the land to its native prairie condition, using controlled fires to manage vegetation.

@ 44:23

Antiproton Source

Facility at Fermilab that generated and stored antiprotons for the Tevatron collider.

@ 46:16

CDF detector

One of the major collaborations and detectors at the Tevatron, crucial for the discovery of the top quark.

@ 48:32

DZero detector

Another major collaboration and detector at the Tevatron, involved in the discovery of the top quark.

@ 48:54

15-foot bubble chamber

A large bubble chamber used at Fermilab for neutrino physics research, providing crucial data on weak interactions.

@ 54:06

Main Injector

A crucial component of Fermilab's accelerator complex, upgraded to handle higher beam intensities for collider and neutrino experiments.

@ 58:55

Hubble Space Telescope

Space telescope used for follow-up studies of celestial objects identified in surveys like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

@ 1:04:40

CMS detector

A major detector experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, with significant Fermilab contribution, which discovered the Higgs boson.

@ 1:07:14

Liquid argon time projection chamber

A new type of detector being used for neutrino research at Fermilab, serving as a prototype for future experiments.

@ 1:08:14

Argonne National Laboratory

Institution that provided a bubble chamber to Fermilab for early experiments.

@ 15:06

CMS experiment

A major experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider where Fermilab is a significant participant.

@ 26:34

CERN

European Organization for Nuclear Research, home to the Large Hadron Collider.

@ 26:37

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA)

Residential academy established with Fermilab's help to improve science education, with students participating in internships at Fermilab.

@ 30:30

KTeV experiment

Experiment at Fermilab that studied kaons to understand CP violation.

@ 42:41

Fermilab Natural Areas

Community and Fermilab member organization dedicated to preserving and enjoying the natural features of the laboratory site.

@ 45:26

Fermilab Children's Center

Daycare facility at Fermilab, established in 1980, providing care for employees' children.

@ 51:51

Cryogenic Dark Matter Search

An experiment at Fermilab aimed at detecting dark matter.

@ 53:23

Experiment 1A

The first approved experiment at Fermilab, a neutrino experiment focused on probing the proton and weak interactions.

@ 55:31

NuMI

A later neutrino experiment at Fermilab with a large collaboration.

@ 55:49

DONUT experiment

An experiment at Fermilab that used photographic emulsions and scintillating fibers to directly observe tau neutrinos.

@ 57:26

Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO)

Located in the SNOLAB mine in Minnesota, this detector is a key part of Fermilab's ongoing neutrino oscillation research.

@ 59:45

NOvA experiment

A current neutrino experiment in northern Minnesota, using large detectors to study neutrino oscillations.

@ 1:00:33

Pierre Auger Observatory

A large cosmic ray observatory in Argentina, with significant Fermilab participation, that measures ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.

@ 1:01:31

Sloan Digital Sky Survey

A large-scale astronomical survey where Fermilab participated, providing data on supernovae and galactic structures.

@ 1:04:27

Dark Energy Survey

An astronomical survey conducted in Chile, where Fermilab is involved in discovering new celestial objects like dwarf galaxies.

@ 1:05:00

ATLAS experiment

Another major detector experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, a rival to the CMS experiment.

@ 1:06:57

Muon experiments

Experiments at Fermilab focused on studying muons, including their magnetic moment and rare decay processes.

@ 1:08:52

Proton therapy

A cancer treatment method using protons, developed with compact synchrotrons built by Fermilab colleagues for hospitals.

@ 36:35

Charmed particles

Particles made of the fourth quark, studied in experiments at Fermilab.

@ 38:00

Lattice gauge theories

A method of theoretical computing used to solve the theory of strong interactions, advanced by specialized machines at Fermilab.

@ 42:15

Kaon (K)

Particles studied in the KTeV experiment, which revealed subtle differences between matter and antimatter behavior.

@ 42:44

CP violation

Charge-parity symmetry violation, a phenomenon studied in particle physics, particularly with kaons.

@ 43:54

Top quark

A fundamental constituent of matter, discovered at Fermilab's Tevatron in 1995. It is significantly heavier than other known quarks.

@ 49:14

W boson

A particle associated with the weak force, whose signature was identified in events related to top quark production.

@ 49:56

Dark matter

Hypothetical form of matter that interacts only gravitationally, believed to constitute a significant portion of the universe's mass but not yet directly detected.

@ 53:01

Neutrinos

Weakly interacting elementary particles that have been a focus of research at Fermilab since its inception.

@ 53:52

Neutral current weak interactions

A type of weak interaction discovered using neutrino experiments at Fermilab in 1973.

@ 54:46

Tau neutrino

A type of neutrino whose existence was confirmed through experiments at Fermilab, leading to the development of advanced detection techniques.

@ 56:11

Tau lepton

A heavy particle, friend of the electron, produced when a tau neutrino interacts.

@ 56:37

Cosmic microwave background radiation

The relic radiation from the early universe, which influences the energy spectrum of cosmic rays.

@ 1:03:30

Dwarf galaxies

Small satellite galaxies of larger galaxies, discovered through astronomical surveys.

@ 1:05:10

Higgs boson

Fundamental particle discovered at the LHC, providing insights into mass and weak interactions.

@ 1:07:37

Muon magnetic moment

A property of muons being precisely measured in an experiment at Fermilab.

@ 1:08:57

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet leader during the early 1970s who encouraged superpower cooperation in particle physics.

@ 12:01

Richard Feynman

Physicist who visited Fermilab and was fascinated by the bubble chamber pictures.

@ 15:46

Henry Adams

Author whose book inspired Bob Wilson's architectural vision for Wilson Hall, drawing parallels to French cathedrals.

@ 20:33

Leon Letterman

Director of Fermilab and co-author of the proposal for the bottom quark discovery.

@ 24:31

Jerry Zimmerman

Fermilab colleague known as 'Mr. Freeze' for his demonstrations with liquid nitrogen.

@ 29:50

Alan Tollstrup

Key figure in the development of the Tevatron magnets.

@ 35:14

Helen Edwards

Designed and implemented the Tevatron machine.

@ 35:21

Dick Lundy

In charge of manufacturing magnets and other components for the Tevatron.

@ 35:28

Tom Nash

Colleague at Fermilab who initiated the development of supercomputers using microprocessors.

@ 41:21

John Peoples

Former director of Fermilab known for stating that Fermilab makes things that work.

@ 1:10:29