Dear Users
As you will be aware, the MEG scanner works by using liquid helium to keep the sensors in a superconducting and therefore a very sensitive state.
The bucket that holds the helium has to be cleaned out once in while. This is because solid nitrogen and oxygen accumulate in the bottom of this bucket and interfere with the cooling of the sensors. We know when we have to do cleaning as the noise on the sensors increases and, if we did nothing, would stop superconducting.
So, we are going to warm up the MEG machine, clean it out, do other maintenance and use the opportunity to improve the layout in the MEG room. We will also carry out some preliminary work that will allow us to, eventually, install our new MEG electronics that will improve the measurement noise and our ability to control the MEG device.
This will take a little while so we will keep you informed about progress. We have spoken to the major users of MEG but if this interferes with your own plans do let us know.
Gary