Pfeiffer Vacuum supplies vacuum solutions for the world’s largest particle accelerator

Vacuum solutions provider Pfeiffer Vacuum has received another major order for turbopumps and turbo pumping stations from CERN.

CERN is situated in Geneva on the Franco-Swiss border and is the largest centre for particle physics research in the world. Its main business is fundamental physics – finding out what the universe is made of and researching the basic constituents of matter.

The particle accelerator LHC (Large Hadron Collider) has a circumference of some 27 kilometers and is used for colliding proton and ion beams at nearly the speed of light. The accelerated particles travel in beam lines, which require ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. These beam lines are pre-evacuated with turbo pumping stations. Furthermore, turbopumps with a very high compression ratio for light gases are then responsible for generating the insulation vacuum. The insulation vacuum is necessary for the operation of the superconducting magnets at a temperature of -271°C.

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