LHCb Experiment at CERN
There has been many a project that the Future Fibres industrial team have got excited about, but the recent findings from the LHCb experiment far outweigh anything of late due to the very nature of its subject.
The Big Bang.
The LHCb experiment at CERN is investigating one of the most profound questions in science: why does our universe consist mostly of matter, when the Big Bang should have produced equal amounts of matter and antimatter? This imbalance remains one of the great mysteries of physics. According to the Standard Model, a small asymmetry between matter and antimatter, known as charge-parity (CP) violation, could explain this phenomenon. However, the degree of CP violation predicted by the Standard Model is insufficient to account for the observed matter-dominated universe.
The LHCb collaboration has recently made significant progress by observing evidence of CP violation in two key areas: the decays of baryons (particles made of three quarks) and beauty mesons (particles consisting of a quark and an antiquark). These findings bring us closer to understanding the matter-antimatter imbalance and are a major milestone in particle physics.
Central to the LHCb experiment is its unique beam pipe, a critical component for guiding particle beams through the detector. This 19-meter-long conical structure features a varying diameter—ranging from 50 mm near the interaction point to 380 mm in the muon system. To optimise the pipe’s transparency to particles emerging from high-energy collisions, it is constructed using a combination of beryllium and stainless steel, with beryllium making up the longest sections.
Supporting this sophisticated beam pipe is an innovative spider-web-like structure, a firstof-its-kind design that remains unique to the LHCb experiment. This structure uses carbon fibre cables supplied by Future Fibres and rods, along with beryllium collars, to hold the pipe securely in place while minimising the amount of material that could interfere with particle detection. The structure is deceptively delicate in appearance but is engineered to withstand the immense forces exerted on the beam pipe when it is under vacuum. Future Fibres contributed advanced composite expertise to the development of the lightweight yet strong support system for the beam
As the LHCb experiment continues to collect data, this state-of-the-art technology will play a crucial role in uncovering more secrets of the universe. This project provided an opportunity for Future Fibres to contribute to the understanding of fundamental laws in physics through their involvement in the development of the beam pipe support system.
Working in an industry which could benefit from high-performance tensile cables? Future Fibres has worked in industries from aerospace, to civil engineering, to architecture, motorsport and beyond – learn more about industrial applications, or get in touch with an expert.
