How did the universe originate? What happened after the Big Bang? These are the kinds of research questions CERN researchers dedicate their time to.
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KNF Pumps Driving CERN Research

Our tiny share in a Nobel Prize

For many years, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland, CERN, has been a hub for the most groundbreaking discoveries in physics. At the heart of its laboratories is the famous underground tunnel with a 27-km circumference that runs below Swiss and French ground. This is where an accelerator propels elementary particles close to the speed of light, forcing them into controlled collision.

CERN was founded by twelve states in 1954. Today, research is financed by 20 states and the organization employs almost 3,000 people. Researchers from around the globe know that they have made it when they are recruited to this research center.

In 2013, CERN was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering the Higgs boson, also dubbed the God Particle. And while it may be a tiny contribution, with CERN having used various KNF pumps for multiple purposes for years, some of this success is also owed to KNF.

Groundbreaking: KNF plays its part in supporting nuclear research at CERN in Switzerland.
Groundbreaking: KNF plays its part in supporting nuclear research at CERN in Switzerland.

Amongst the equipment that helps drive CERN’s research are several KNF swing piston pumps. These pumps enable detectors searching for particles such as the Higgs boson to operate without a hitch. The processes that propel particles to unimaginable speed around 300,000 km per second generate enormous heat. This means that cooling is required non-stop, a mechanism that must never fail. It is KNF pumps that guarantee this cooling, even if there’s a leak: The entire cycle runs in a vacuum.

CERN also employs KNF diaphragm pumps that supply gas and evacuate evaporated coolant. CERN particularly appreciates the longevity, high gas tightness and reliability of KNF pumps. It is also impressed with KNF’s excellent customer service and attractive pricing.

What more could you want? There’s no higher accolade in the world of fundamental research into the origins of the universe and the matter that holds everything together. The only thing that might be even more relevant than such fundamental discoveries are the specific contributions to research that we all benefit from in a medical and industrial context, but also in our day-to-day lives. Take PET cancer scans, which were discovered as a “byproduct” of CERN research and that are now used on a daily basis. Even the World Wide Web is to some degree rooted in CERN research.

All of this illustrates that KNF pumps make a significant contribution in many areas, and we owe them many of the modern accomplishments that we enjoy every day.

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