some incredible beasts have been constructed in the name of research and below are 14 of the most immediately intriguing.
on to the brilliance…
1. super kamiokande detector, kamioka observatory, japan
an old favourite on the intertubes, this 50′000 ton cylindrical ‘ring-imaging water cerenkov detector’ can be found at the kamioka mozumi mine in japan - 1′000m underground. clever people built the machine to detect neutrinos, proton decay and cosmic rays: this is done using the 12′000-ish photomultiplier tubes (extremely sensitive light detectors) visible on all walls of the ‘ultra-purified water-filled’ tank. to offer further explanation would reveal my scientific ineptitude. instead, go here for a nicely simplified explanation and here for some incredible hi-res photos large enough to incapacitate the average pc.
2. benefield anechoic facility, california, usa
first of all (in case you don’t know) an anechoic chamber is a room which has been filled with sound absorbing materials in order to minimise all reflections from internal surfaces, thus making the space echo-less. more commonly these rooms are used to test and research sound equipment due to the lack of any such interference affecting the equipment’s output. the benefield anechoic facility you see above is the largest anechoic chamber on earth and, rather than using acoustically absorbent materials, is filled with radiation absorbent materials in the form of 816′000 foam cones designed to minimise the reflection of radio frequency signals. to read more, look here.
3. the z machine, sandia national laboratory, new mexico, usa
the z machine is the largest x-ray generator on earth and is believed by many as the key to understanding controlled fusion.
‘the z machine uses a short burst of intense electricity - only a few 10 billionths of a second long - that forces an ionized gas to implode. the process is called a z-pinch because the pulse creates a magnetic field that squeezes particles in the vertical direction, which math books usually label as the “z-axis.” at the center of the z-pinch, in the space of a small soup can, gas particles race at each other at a million miles an hour. the collisions result in X-rays and extremely high temperatures.’
in 2006 the machine unexpectedly produced plasmas with temperatures in excess of 3.6 billion °f. that’s hotter than the core of our sun.
4. very large array, new mexico, usa
arranged on an enormous y-shaped set of tracks on the plains of san augustin is the ‘very large array’, a collection of 27 radio antennas used primarily by astronomers around the world. each antenna weighs 230 tons and can be moved by way of the 3 13 mile long tracks, giving a total of 4 different configurations, the data from all 27 antenna can then be combined to give the resolution of an antenna whopping 22 miles across. the 2nd picture, from google maps, gives you some idea of the scale of the observatory.
the direct link to the vla on google maps is here. the vla website is here.
5. large hadron collider, cern, switzerland/france
the large hadron collider, when completed very soon, will be the largest particle collider on earth, one of the intentions being to recreate the slightly hot conditions that occured immediately after the big bang, in turn resulting in the observation of the ‘god particle‘. the huge circle in the 1st photo is the location of the lhc tunnel, located approximately 100m below ground and measuring 27km in circumference. in the tunnel are 2 parallel tubes, each carrying protons in opposite directions at near the speed of light using the surrounding superconducting magnets. to carry on with this explanation could take days and a lot of mistakes so you should continue reading about this mammoth machine here.
6. large helical device, gifu, japan
the phenomenal photo above shows superconducting coils within the large helical device in japan, a machine which holds the title of ‘largest superconducting stellarator in the world’. these huge winding coils are used to generate magnetic fields strong enough to confine a plasma in the centre which needs to be heated to the point where a controlled nuclear fusion reaction will occur - 100 million degrees.
you can read more about the device here. a mammoth version of the photo is here.
7. odeillo solar furnace, odeillo, france
built in 1969, this brilliantly shiny oddity is the 8-storey high odeillo solar furnace in france: at present the largest on the planet. the 63 smaller mirrors on the hillside reflect the sun onto the huge parabolic reflector you see in the photos, this in turn reflecting the solar radiation very precisely onto a point just 18 metres in front of the parabola. using this method, temperatures can reach an unbelievably hot 3400°C. the incredible amount of heat generated by the furnace is used for research in many areas including high temperature solar engineering (advanced solar power systems, solar chemistry, etc.), photo-physics and chemistry applied physics. the official site is here.
8. atf fire research laboratory, maryland, usa
measuring a whopping 60ft x 60ft, this is the largest calorimetry hood on earth and is an essential part of the atf fire research laboratory. the hood needs to be this large in order to monitor and measure the heat output created by burning buildings underneath it. full scale houses have been specifically built, placed under the hood and destroyed in the name of research on a regular basis since the state-of-the-art facility was opened in 2003, and that’s just one of the 3 hoods in a lab which is so impressive that it’s visited by experts the world over.
official site is here.
9. ligo observatories, louisiana & washington, usa
the photo above shows ligo’s hanford observatory, one of 2 main facilities used by ligo to detect ‘ripples’ or gravitational waves in space-time. both of the observatories have an enormous l-shaped interferometer, each arm measuring 4km in length, with a mirror at each end. laser light enters the ‘arms’ from the corner of the l-shape and then bounces back and forth between each mirror a set number of times. the reason for this is better explained in the clip below. for a simple explanation about both gravitational waves and ligo itself, watch the clip. to see the hanford observatory on google maps, click here. the ligo website is here.
10. arecibo observatory, arecibo, puerto rico
the arecibo observatory in puerto rico contains the largest curved focusing dish on earth and is used for 3 main research purposes: radio astronomy, aeronomy and radar astronomy observations of solar system objects. the dish has been set in a depression between some hills and, to compensate for its fixed position, the receiver can be repositioned as it sits 450ft above ground. the observatory’s incredible appearance resulted in a cameo in goldeneye’s final scene.
the official arecibo site can be found here. also, the gigantic structure can be seen clearly on google maps here.
11. joint european torus, oxfordshire, uk
(above) ’split image showing interior view of the jet vacuum vessel with a superimposed image of an actual jet plasma, taken with a simple industrial tv camera in the visible spectrum’.the joint european torus (jet) is the largest nuclear fusion experimental reactor on earth and is also a unique facility for researching fusion technology. jet is an example of a ‘tokamak’, a machine which produces an extremely strong, doughnut shaped magnetic field in order to confine a plasma. in jet’s case these plasmas can reach temperatures in excess of 100 million degrees centigrade. for more photos go here.
12. windshear rolling road wind tunnel, north carolina, usa
who knew aerodynamics research could look so cool? the windshear rolling road wind tunnel is the first of its kind in america and its 1mm thick steel belt can accelerate from 0-180mph in under a minute. unlike current wind tunnels, a machine like this allows engineers to study airflow to a greater degree due to the vehicle’s spinning wheels and resultant drag. some more facts…
- the air in this wind tunnel design flows from the fan to the vehicle, then is collected and returned to the fan in a closed circuit
- the main fan has a diameter of 22 feet, and is rated at 5,100 hp
- at maximum air speed, the fan produces an air flow volume of 2.85 million cubic feet per minute, and its total power consumption is 7 megawatts (one megawatt is equal to one million [106] watts)
- the belt will last up to 5,000 operational hours
- if a vehicle remained on the belt the entire time, it would “travel” approximately 300,000 to 400,000 kilometers
- the “thru-the-belt” measurement system measures the aerodynamic down force under each tire through the belt
13. solae, inazawa city, japan
this incredible looking building, built by the mitsubishi electric corporation, is the world’s tallest elevator shaft and was constructed specifically to enable engineers to research the next generation of high-speed elevators. solae is 173 metres tall and cost $45 million (usd) to complete but is an essential piece of kit when you consider the ever-increasing speeds and heights of elevator shafts: the world’s fastest elevator is currently at taipei 101 and travels at 37.66mph but this will soon be beaten by the elevators at the 800 metre high burj dubai which will reach ear-popping speeds of 42.36mph.
14. the shake table, san diego, usa
this $9 million machine, supporting a huge wind turbine in the photo, is the world’s only large-scale outdoor earthquake platform and, using hydraulics, is capable of shaking a 20 ton object horizontally at realistically high speeds. this kind of research could obviously prove invaluable as specialists will hopefully learn how to build quake-proof structures. it also looks like a massive amount of fun. visit the official home of the machine here.
sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
