Particle accelerator FAIR: Start of trial operation postponed after major fire
With FAIR, one of the world's largest facilities for fundamental research in physics is being built in Darmstadt. A major fire broke out there on Thursday.
(Image: Joerg Lantelme/Shutterstock.com)
Following a major fire at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, the planned particle accelerator FAIR cannot be tested as planned starting in December. This was announced by Hessian Minister of Science Timon Gremmels (SPD) on Thursday. It is still unclear how long the testing phase will be delayed. The major fire broke out on Thursday morning in a building of the UNILAC linear accelerator – in “a preceding area of the new FAIR particle accelerator.” The construction site of the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) was not directly affected. Nevertheless, UNILAC will therefore not be able to supply the particle beam for FAIR.
Major Fire Department Operation
“This is a dramatic situation for us,” a spokesperson for the research institute told Hessischer Rundfunk. It is not yet foreseeable how great the damage actually is. According to dpa, 160 emergency personnel were temporarily involved in fighting the major fire on Thursday. The major fire was under control late in the evening, and a fire watch was to be maintained overnight. The public had previously been warned of combustion gases and asked to close windows and doors and turn off ventilation and air conditioning systems. According to the research center, the fire was caused by a short circuit in the power supply, and the smoke plume was visible for miles. No one was harmed in the fire.
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With the international accelerator facility FAIR, one of the world's largest facilities for fundamental research in physics is being built on the grounds of the research institute in the Wixhausen district of Darmstadt. Matter that otherwise only occurs far away in the universe is to be generated and researched there. Scientists hope to gain new insights into the structure of matter and the development of the cosmos. The construction of the facility was originally planned to cost 1.3 billion euros, but according to Hessischer Rundfunk, the costs have now risen to approximately 4.3 billion euros. How FAIR will proceed now remains to be seen.
(mho)
