Why a 50-year-old particle accelerator keeps failing every 28 days

8 LosAlamosNerd 3 7/2/2025, 7:39:23 PM lanl.gov ↗

Comments (3)

LosAlamosNerd · 15h ago
LANL’s particle accelerator shuts down about every 28 days because a tiny tungsten filament burns out under heat, cesium, and ion bombardment. Researchers are testing graphene coatings—atomic-scale “armor”—to keep it running longer.

I would love to hear if you think this kind of nano-protection could be generalized to other extreme environments (fusion, space, etc).

AnimalMuppet · 14h ago
Disappointing - I was expecting it to be that some system time was overflowing on a 50-year-old computer.
madcaptenor · 14h ago
I thought it was going to be the moon.