Scientists are conducting tests in Europe in preparation for the launch of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), the first large acceptance particle detector designed to operate in space. Many people, however, may not know that Taiwanese scientists are part of the project.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) says 15 countries are participating in the AMS experiment, which was designed by an international team of physicists led by US Nobel laureate Sam Ting.
Production of the AMS components was a joint effort, with France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, China, the US and Taiwan making significant contributions, CERN said.
Academia Sinica, the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), National Central University (NCU), National Cheng Kung University, National Chiao Tung University, and the National Space Program Office (NSPO) are part of the Taiwanese effort.
Lin Chih-hsun (林志勳), an associate research scientist from Academia Sinica’s Institute of Physics, said most of the detector’s electronic equipment was manufactured at the CSIST.
Its main computer and trigger system were jointly designed, manufactured and tested by Academia Sinica, NCU, CSIST and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lin said.
The CSIST and NSPO were responsible for thermal modeling and analysis, and the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp produced the AMS ground support equipment and cooling panels.
The main scientific purpose of AMS is to search for dark matter and antimatter.
CERN said the AMS would be transported to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a special US Air Force flight.
Lift-off aboard the space shuttle Discovery is scheduled for July, it said.
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