Deep underground, close to Lake Geneva, at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, huge detectors sift through a stream of subatomic particles and collect gigantic volumes of data, which are analysed using powerful algorithms. Modern technologies are making the tiny particles that hold the cosmos together visible on a larger scale.
In 2012, a milestone in particle physics was achieved with the discovery of the Higgs boson particle. Scientists Robert Brout, François Englert and Peter Higgs had first predicted its existence back in the 1960s. According to the Standard Model of particle physics at the time, there should strictly speaking be no mass. Subatomic particles should move at the speed of light. Yet, as previously stated, they should be massless. The three researchers nevertheless developed the theory of the Higgs field. According to this theory, the Higgs field slows down the smallest particles – comparable with beads flying through honey – giving them inertia and therefore mass. 50 years later, the big breakthrough finally came. Protons were accelerated at virtually the speed of light in the LHC to allow them to collide. Higgs bosons broke free from the Higgs field and it was thus possible to measure them and prove that they actually exist. And so the existence of matter was proven. Higgs and Englert were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 for their theory. Brout had died in 2011.
The research conducted at CERN involves scientific work with breathtaking dimensions. Established in 1954, the research organisation receives almost 1 billion euros in funding every year from 22 member states and currently employs more than 2,500 scientists. Over 12,000 guest scientists from all over the world work on CERN experiments. The world’s largest laboratory for particle physics operates a network of several accelerators which prepare various particles for a wide range of experiments. These include muons for researching the structure of the proton, heavy ions for creating states of matter and radioactive ion beams for observing exotic nuclei.
The world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator is the LHC. It is located around 100 metres underground in a circular tunnel with a circumference of 27 kilometres. The LHC uses strong electric fields in order to transmit energy to particle beams and guides the beams through the system using magnetic fields. The particles acquire more and more acceleration energy until they travel around the LHC at close to the speed of light – 11,245 times per second. When they collide, four huge detectors – CMS, ATLAS, ALICE and LHCb – record what happens.
CMS 探测器是技术先进的探测设备，其长度为 21 米，直径为 15 米，重达 12,500 吨。它由 1 亿个独立的测量元件组成，每秒可进行 高达4000 万次测量，是有史以来最复杂、最精密的科学仪器之一。为防止测量误差，所有影响因素必须保持在规定的公差内。
影响因素还包括地下洞穴中周围环境和排出空气的成分。为了确保始终正确的操作，在探测器内外部的 100 多个测量点连续抽取空气进行分析。鉴于名称中的“紧凑”一词也意味着不可能随时随地进行快速干预，这一点尤其重要。在紧急情况下，例如探测器中气体泄漏或起火，可能需要长达两周的时间才能到达紧急通口以进入内部区域。
过去，每个单独的空气提取点都有单独的分析设备，导致成本高昂。此外，对于 CERN 标准，维护成本和潜在故障率过高。自 2016 年初以来，VTSA 型阀岛一直确保以尽可能最快的路线将空气流引至分析设备。新的解决方案将所需的分析设备数量减少了10倍。现在，空气流被集中起来并分配给下游的分析设备。VTSA 的主阀由压缩空气引导，其优点是对 CMS 探测器磁力不敏感。阀岛的配置符合 CERN 的特定要求。最重要的技术调整是可逆操作。
在正常运行中，来自测量线的空气通过阀岛进入下游分析站。同时，所有其他测量线均在低压操作中进行永久。因此，当切换到下一个测量线时，当前的环境空气在阀处可用。这种灵活的应用表明，VTSA 的高质量标准组件可以提供一种智能的技术解决方案，从性能和成本两方面为 CMS 带来长期的效率提升。
自动化空气分析联合项目于 2015 年 8 月开始，10 月底完成交付。新系统已于 2016 年初投入使用。CERN CMS 气体安全主管 Gerd Fetchenhauer 解释说：鉴于我们多年来在 CERN 和 CMS 中一直使用 Festo 产品，并且对这些产品非常满意，因此Festo 是提供这项技术的不二选择。”
过去我们主要是购买单个组件，而即可安装的系统解决方案是 Festo 和 CERN 合作多年以来的第一次。它为大型强子对撞机的其他探测器中的类似应用奠定了基础，因此，小迈步可以继续带来重大的新科学发现。