CDF co-spokesmen Alvin Tollestrop and Roy Schwitters celebrate with colleagues after the Tevatron\'s first proton and antiproton collisions on Oct. 13, 1985.
At around 3 a.m. on Oct. 13, 1985, Fermilab scientists broke out the bubbly.
They had just detected the first proton-antiproton collisions in the laboratory's particle collider, the largest of its kind in the world. It was a moment of triumph they had been working toward since the 1970s, when they began constructing the Tevatron -- back then called the Energy Doubler or Energy Saver.
Today the laboratory celebrates the 25th anniversary of that moment.
Roger Dixon, head of the Accelerator Division, wrote in a column for Fermilab Today, that "some of the laboratory’s venerable staff had difficulty believing that an entire ring of 1,000 superconducting magnets would ever work. It was not uncommon to overhear outrageous bets being proffered concerning the outcome of these efforts.
"Fortunately, no one ever called in any of these bets when the machine worked as planned: There would have been some very embarrassing moments involving improper behavior."
However incredulous people were that such a large, complicated machine would work, they still had confidence in the project's leadership, he wrote.
Fermilab scientist Helen Edwards, who headed up the design, construction and commissioning of the collider, "was key to the success of the Tevatron," he wrote. "She drove the effort hard, and she was a meticulous taskmaster. She knew that it could be done, and she was very credible to the people in the trenches, where she spent much of her time. Everyone worked hard for her, and together they achieved an exceptional outcome."
He went on to write, "Many people made significant contributions to this effort as well. It is impossible to list all the work that went on to make the collisions a reality.
"It took both leadership and technical talent to arrive at this point in history. May we continue to have an abundance of these attributes to take us into the future."
Scientist Helen Edwards, who was integral to the development, installation and success of the Tevatron, signs a document signaling the installation of the last superconducting magnet in 1983. This was a necessary step before first collisions could take place in 1985.
Leon Lederman (on right), director of Fermilab from 1979-1989, celebrated with colleagues after the Tevatron\'s first collisions.
