Tage der Industriekultur 2025 – “Shift change” at the GSI/FAIR accelerator
25.08.2025 |
How do particle accelerators work? What does the inside of a neutron star look like? Can ion beams be used to destroy tumors? Answers to these and other exciting questions were provided to 56 visitors to the GSI/FAIR campus in August as part of “Tage der Industriekultur Rhein-Main” (Industrial Heritage Days Rhine-Main) under this year's motto “shift change.” They gained an insight into the accelerators and experiments at GSI and the FAIR construction project.
Following an introductory lecture, a tour took the participants to the linear accelerator UNILAC, the main control room, and the experimental storage ring ESR. During the operating phases of the facilities, which run continuously for weeks, shift changes are frequent — among the accelerator operators in the control center and the scientists conducting the experiments.
The cancer therapy with carbon ions of the Biophysics department and the large-scale detector HADES were also part of the program, as was a visit to the Green IT Cube data center, which is particularly energy-efficient and sustainable thanks to water cooling.
An even bigger scientific “shift change” is coming in the future, as the new international accelerator center FAIR, one of the largest research projects worldwide, is currently under construction. Participants gained an insight into the megaproject by exploring the construction site from the FAIR viewpoint.
GSI/FAIR have been participating in the program of “Tage der Industriekultur” for many years. The event series invites visitors to discover the many facets of industrial working environments. Visits, exhibitions, tours, and sound art projects open up new perspectives on the working culture in the Rhine-Main region. (CP)
