Magnet Jessica

Photo: Jenny Mullins, Fermilab

Magnet Jessica
What do an 18-month-old baby and a 19-foot-long superconducting magnet have in common?

In 1987, people across the United States watched a drama unfold in Midland, Texas. Eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure had gotten trapped about twenty-five feet underground in an unused well. The 8-inch opening to the well made it impossible for workers to simply pull her back up. After 58 hours of digging, Baby Jessica was finally rescued.

Fourteen years later, a similar event captivated the Fermilab Community. A 19-foot-long superconducting magnet for the LHC had gotten stuck in the 30-foot-deep hole of a new vertical collaring press after the coils had been fixed in place. When technicians tried to raise the magnet, the collars clamped around the coil made the magnet a little too wide and it couldn't be brought up. After hours of effort and applying huge forces, the collared magnet finally exited through the hole at the top of the press. The magnet was named Jessica, in honor of the tiny namesake and her happy recovery.

Every magnet since has received a name, but the origins of the additional names are of a more personal nature. "Many people put a lot of time and effort into developing these magnets and may never get quoted insymmetry magazine," said Jim Kerby, the US LHC accelerator project manager. "The names are a way of acknowledging their efforts."

After Jessica came Alex, named for the grandson of Arnie Knauf, one of the magnet's designers. Many names of family members and close friends of people involved in the project have followed. Although there have been name requests from outside the project, for now the naming of magnets will be kept inside the family.

The full list of names: Alex, Britney, Charlie, Destiny, Eddie, Freddy, Grace, Hannah, Isabel, Jalissa, Jessica, Katie, Lisa, Maya, Megan, Nuria, Olivia, Paul, Quincy, Rica, Samantha, Tom, Ursula, Victoria, Willy, Xena, Yuenian, Zell.

Ben Berger