A System for Monitoring Proton Losses from the NAL Main Accelerator

The National Accelerator Laboratory (NAL) Main Ring Beam Loss Monitor System employs 200 inexpensive liquid scintillation detectors distributed evenly around the accelerator circumference to measure radiation created when protons strike vacuum chamber walls, obstructions, magnets, etc. The detectors are interfaced to the computer control system through 10 channel "sample and hold" electronics which also integrate and amplify incoming pulses. Since the computer system can arbitrarily select the times during a machine cycle when sampling will occur, it is possible to generate real time graphs of radiation loss versus time, radiation loss versus machine circumference, or a three dimensional histogram combining the two.