This was done in a cryogenic chamber by an electron beam welder - CNC type. The material is nyobium (used to be called columbium) and must be kept pure of contaminates during welding so it is done in a vacuum of 7 E-5 Torr. The logo was done in Keycreator and postprocessed for this welder....  Another photo of the main reason for the welder at this laboratory.

Pretty freakin elaborate set-up just to weld doorknobs eh.
No really, what the heck IS that part ?
COOL !,RC

An accelerator makes electrons go faster by placing negative charges behind them and positive charges in front of them. Since electrons have a negative electrical charge, they are repelled by the other negative charges and are attracted towards the positive charges. Devices called cavities, like the one shown in the photo, are used to place positive and negative charges around the electrons in the beam.

Cavities are hollow shells made from the element niobium. Jefferson Lab's accelerator uses 338 cavities, mostly in the two long, straight sections. Microwaves are directed into the cavities and cause the electrons in the niobium metal to concentrate in certain areas. Since these areas have extra electrons, they become negatively charged. Other areas of the cavities have too few electrons, so they become positively charged. The electrons in the beam are pulled towards the positively charged areas and are pushed away from the negatively charged areas. Niobium is a superconductor at the boiling point of helium -456f.

Since the electrons in the beam are moving at nearly the speed of light, the microwaves must cycle the positions of the charged areas 1.5 billion times a second. This ensures that the electrons in the beam will always have a positively charged area ahead of them and a negatively charged area behind them.

Superconducting doorknob!!!

Bill C.

Pffffttt.......I can't believe you didn't know what that was, RC.
Seriously, that's pretty darn neat!

Well Sam.......I was close.
 I just neglected to include the details. Had I known you were interested too, I would have explained better.   yeah, right.  lol


Amazing....
Thanks Bill,
RC

I like cut and paste! The science here is too far out there for me and dealing with some of these physicists and scientists is a real practice in lip biting. Some of them should not be allowed to drive a car!

The welder is a 20 year old Sciaki. It's like a steam locomotive - reliable for millions of miles until something breaks....then we have big and expensive problems.

Also; I sort-of wish that the operating system in the welder was Mach3. That suggestion has been made - to these scientists.....oh well....

Bill C.

the big rectangular flanges I put in my show-and-tell page were for another accelerator not superconducing though.

When "Super Man" used to work for AmTrack, he was called a "Super Conductor". 

is that the same thing??.........   

scott