THE COLLIDER DETECTOR AT FERMI LAB.

THE COLLIDER DETECTOR FERMI LAB (CDF) IS PART OF A COMPLEX OF ATOM-SMASHING EQUIPMENT THAT SCIENTISTS AT FERMI NATIONAL LABORATORY IN BATAVIA, ILLINOIS HAVE BEEN BUILDING. THE 4,500 TON, TWO-STORY HIGH DEVICE IS DESIGNED TO CAPTURE AND CATALOG THE SUBNUCLEAR FRAGMENTS THAT SCATTER FROM HEAD-ON COLLISIONS OF PROTONS AND ANTIPROTONS. THE DETECTOR USES APPROXIMATELY 100,000 ELECTRONIC CHANNELS TO GATHER AND RECORD DATA FROM EACH COLLISION, MEASURING THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT, THE MOMENTUM AND THE CHARGE OF EACH FRAGMENT EMERGING FROM A COLLISION. THE CDF TOOK SIX YEARS TO COMPLETE, AND WAS BUILT BY A COLLABORATION OF MORE THAN 170 PHYSICISTS FROM THE U.S., JAPAN, AND ITALY. BUILDERS OF THE DETECTOR BELIEVE IT WILL PROFOUNDLY IMPROVE SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE MAKEUP OF THE UNIVERSE.