RE: FW: Hoover Dam underground lab

Steve and Janet,
        I am on the theta13 mailing list, so when you send a message to me and the
general list, I get duplicate copies. It's nice to be so appreciated!

Dick

-----Original Message-----
From: biller@hep.uchicago.edu [mailto:biller@hep.uchicago.edu]On Behalf Of
Steve Biller
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 6:21 AM
To: Janet Conrad
Cc: Dick Hahn; mwtheta13@hep.uchicago.edu
Subject: Re: FW: Hoover Dam underground lab

  There's a SNO collaboration meeting in Sudbury next week,
so we'll have a look around and see what we can find out.

                                              - Steve

Janet Conrad wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> It would be very nice if we could make measurements at various depths.
> So it is also worth pursing the idea of running in a mine tunnel.
> Do you know who should be contacted at Sudbury to ask about hat is
> available?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Janet
>
> Steve Biller wrote:
>
> > The problem for the spallation study is that you need to be able to
> >move the detector around to explore how different variations of
overburden
> >and cavity geometry etc. change various measured rates. Thus, ideally,
you
> >really would want a mine tunnel instead of a single room. Of course,
> >this isn't to say that different studies might not be done in different
> >environments, so we should keep options open by continuing to explore
> >everything.
> >
> > - Steve
> >
> >
> >Janet Conrad wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Hi,
> >>
> >>Thank you so much for investigating this! That's 323 mwe -- in other
> >>words, PERFECT!
> >>The room size also sounds like it will work well. I will investigate
> >>this further.
> >>
> >>-Janet
> >>
> >>Dick Hahn wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>Based on the comment by Janet during today's phone call about Hoover
Dam, I
> >>>communicated with Hank Sobel at UCI.
> >>>His two replies follow:
> >>>
> >>>-----Original Message-----
> >>>From: Dick Hahn [mailto:hahn1@bnl.gov]
> >>>Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 8:56 AM
> >>>To: Sobel, Hank
> >>>Subject: Hoover Dam underground lab
> >>>
> >>>Hi Hank,
> >>> As I may have told you, I am currently involved in planning
> >>>discussions for a future theta-13 experiment. In a conference phone
call
> >>>today, someone mentioned the idea of doing some prototype measurements
> >>>underground (under water?) at Hoover Dam. I recall that when you, Toni,
> >>>Sheila, and I
> >>>visited the Dam, you mentioned that you had done a neutrino experiment
> >>>there with Fred et al. years ago. Are there are any details written
down
> >>>someplace about the properties of the Hoover Dam lab, such as
> >>>overburden, available space, etc.?
> >>>
> >>>Best regards,
> >>>Dick
> >>>
> >>>-----Original Messages-----
> >>>From: Henry W. Sobel [mailto:hsobel@uci.edu]
> >>>Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 1:35 PM
> >>>To: 'Dick Hahn'
> >>>Cc: Michael Moe
> >>>Subject: RE: Hoover Dam underground lab
> >>>Message # 1
> >>>Hi Dick,
> >>>Mike Moe had a lab in the dam where he did his Double Beta Decay
> >>>experiments. I'll look and see if there is anything around, but
probably
> >>>Mike would have all that information.
> >>>
> >>>Regards,
> >>>Hank
> >>>
> >>>Message #2
> >>>Here is a write-up about the site that I found in our 1989 DOE renewal:
> >>>
> >>>A very satisfactory underground site has been found where there is good
> >>>protection from cosmic radiation. The room is 35 x 114 x 40 feet high
> >>>and houses the "Arizona tunnel plug outlet works" at the Hoover Dam.
> >>>This cavity is beneath nearly 400 feet of rock, has easy horizontal
> >>>access, plenty of power and cooling water for the magnet, and a 20-ton
> >>>overhead crane. We have approval from the Project Manager to put the
> >>>experiment in place in September of this year (1988).
> >>>
> >>>The distance from UCI is 295 miles, a five-hour drive or a one-hour
> >>>flight to nearby Las Vegas. We plan to set up a telephone link to
> >>>monitor the detector from UCI, and the people at the dam have agreed to
> >>>do a daily check for us.
> >>>
> >>>The cosmic flux will be two orders of magnitude below what we have been
> >>>living with. Natural radioactivity in the walls of the tunnel has been
> >>>found to be the same as at the present location in our Physical
Sciences
> >>>building. (By erecting a water shield around the whole apparatus at
> >>>Irvine we found that the natural activity of the room has only a minor
> >>>effect inside the TPC.)
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Regards,
> >>>Hank
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
Received on Thu Jul 29 09:10:42 2004