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LHC dipole installation gets to half-way mark

6 September 2006

The installation of the 616th dipole for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on 12 July marked the half-way point for the machine’s 1232 dipole magnets.

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Technicians and engineers continue to work day and night carefully installing 20 magnets a week. This is three times faster than originally planned, with four magnets able to be transported underground simultaneously. However, the 65 team members that are responsible for this task face daily challenges owing to the limited space inside the tunnel. Some areas leave only a few centimetres of leeway, requiring a tightly coordinated operation.

Each of the dipoles weighs 34 tonnes and is 15 m long. Once they have been lowered down the specially constructed shaft on the Meyrin site, they begin a slow progression to their final destinations in the LHC tunnel, taking about 10 hours to arrive at Point 6, the furthest point on the LHC ring. Upon arrival, each of the dipoles is aligned and interconnected to the magnets that are already installed.

During the summer, the installation of Sector 7-8 of the LHC, comprising the first continuous chain of magnets and cryostats, along with their cryogenic distribution line, will be completed, in readiness for cool-down and testing before the end of the year.

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