Low uncertainty position transducers for the LHC collimators: tutorial 49

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest particle accelerator ever built. The transverse energy density of the nominal beam is 1000 times higher than what was previously achieved in proton storage rings. Tiny fractions of the stored beam suffice to quench a super-conducting LHC magnet (i.e., a situation where part of the magnet exits the superconducting state) or even to destroy parts of the accelerator. The energy in the two LHC beams is sufficient to melt almost one ton of copper.