How CERN gets its new focusing magnets ready for the LHC tunnel

A HiLumi LHC inner-triplet assembly in the workshop contains a CERN-built quadrupole and a corrector magnet from Spain’s CIEMAT. CERN published this photograph on 28 October 2026. The capture date is unconfirmed. Photo: CERN. Original CERN article image, unchanged. CERN photograph and report · Image use terms

The red cylinder in CERN’s workshop photograph is part of the machinery that will squeeze two proton beams before they meet. CERN reported on 28 October that it had made and validated the eight quadrupoles it needs for this part of the Large Hadron Collider upgrade, with two spares in the final stages. The next milestones tell you how far that workshop achievement is from collisions in the tunnel. CERN manufacturing update

Why the beams need a tighter focus

The LHC uses different magnets for different jobs. Dipoles steer particles around the ring. Quadrupoles focus the beam, squeezing in one direction while spreading it in the other. A sequence with alternating orientations brings the beam into focus. Near the ATLAS and CMS experiments, the aim is to bring the opposing beams together in a smaller spot so that more protons have a chance of colliding. CERN magnet guide · CERN manufacturing update

The photograph shows one CERN quadrupole paired with a corrector made by Spain’s CIEMAT. The CERN-built magnet uses a niobium-tin superconductor and has a magnetic length of 7.2 metres. CERN’s report tracks a second design separately. Each of those assemblies, produced by the US collaboration, contains two shorter quadrupoles. The October milestone counts the CERN-built production magnets. CERN manufacturing update

What the July power test established

On 8 July, a full-scale test setup called the IT String reached the magnets’ nominal current of 16,230 amperes, CERN reported on 21 July. The setup lets engineers run equipment together and observe how it behaves under demanding conditions. CERN says 17 electrical circuits reached their operating currents during the wider campaign. A test-stand milestone gives engineers evidence about that configuration before installation. The operating accelerator will require its own commissioning. CERN test report · CERN manufacturing update

How to follow the work underground

The last LHC beams before the shutdown were dumped on 27 June. In its October manufacturing update, CERN said it expects the first new magnet installation in the tunnel in 2028. In the meantime, the shutdown tracker shows where the other work is happening. A 5 November entry records the first service module going into the ATLAS tracker endcap at Nikhef on 14 October. That module helps supply power, signals and cooling to part of the detector. It is a separate job from putting a magnet in the accelerator. CERN shutdown tracker · CERN manufacturing update

Three milestones worth keeping separate

When the next update lands, check which hardware it names, where the work happened and when it took place. A dated workshop report tells you which units have been made and tested. A tunnel report can tell you which ones have been installed. Look for a commissioning report to see how the equipment performs once it is connected to the machine. The same public record is available to a class in the UK, a CERN member state, and to readers in South Africa, which CERN lists among its international cooperation partners. CERN stakeholder list · Read PING’s guide to finding original NASA mission records