Princeton Weekly Bulletin November 23, 1998

On the move

The 50-ton Palmer Cyclotron Magnet was removed from its longtime home in the former Palmer Physical Labnow Palmer Hallon November 6.
     According to Frank Shoemaker, emeritus professor of physics, who is supervising the operation for the Physics Department, the magnet was originally constructed "in 1935 or 1936." It operated as an "eight million electron volt (8 MeV) cyclotron before the war. After the war it was rebuilt as a frequency-modulated cyclotron, which gave about 14 or 15 MeV."
     On February 22, 1950, he recalls, "the cyclotron caught fire and burned for six or seven hoursthere had been hundreds of gallons of oil used to cool the coils. As the machine was located in the ventilation room of Palmer, smoke and soot ended up in every room of the building." Shoemaker, who designed the new coils after the fire, says the resurrected machine "ran again at 18 MeV until about 1967, and then shut down. Since then, we've used the magnet as a teaching tool."
     Now, thanks to the muscle of A&A Machinery Moving Inc., the Palmer Cyclotron Magnet is installed in the high bay room in Jadwin Hall, where it will continue to be used for teaching. (photos: Denise Applewhite)