On the Saclay Proton Synchrotron Project

The 1953-1957 five-year plan of the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique foresaw the construction of a large accelerator whose characteristics had not been decided. During the year 1954, under the leadership of its High Commissioner, Professor F. Perrin, the decision was made to build a proton synchrotron on the ground of the Nuclear Research Center at Saclay. The energy that accelerated particles must reach has been set at 1.75 GeV, at a first stage, with the possibility of being able to exceed this value later. The energy of accelerated particles was thus chosen, following information from Brookhaven, so that it was sufficient for the creation of V particles. The establishment of the project, as well as the technical supervision of its execution, is the responsibility of the Accelerators Department. The authors, members of this Department, present some remarks on the choice of the type and the dimensions of this machine, on the design of its magnet, as well as on the building and the project implementation. Reprint of a paper published in 'Nuovo Cimento', Vol. 2, Series X, suppl No. 1, 1955, p. 423-441