http://www.fnal.gov/ Go to this link on the web, I'm no physicist so I can't begin to explain what they do there now. But the main thing they're known for is developing the atomic bomb--hence my original concern when I saw smoke coming from their complex. Vega
Fermilab is not dangerous, as implied by some of these posts. Yes, it produces high energy particle beams, but at sub-atomic levels. The energy in these beams is referenced to the kinetic energy of an electron travelling through a 1-volt potential field. This energy unit is called an electron- volt, or eV. Fermilab particle beams reach energies in the trillions of electron volts, or TeV. That sounds impressive, until you consider that an eV has an energy of 10^-19 Joules. So, 1 Tev = 10^-7 Joules. Not enough to power a flashlight. The misunderstanding may be related to the fact that the proton-antiproton interactions at Fermilab generate nuclear fission, but not of the chain-reaction kind. Such "fissile" reactions result from bringing enough purified fissile isotopes together to create a chain reaction -- i.e., uranium 235 or plutonium 239. Even if Fermilab used U or Pu in their experiments, they would not use the fissile kind, and they certainly would not use it in enough quantity to cause a sustainable chain reaction. You need on the order of pounds of enriched U or Pu for fission; Fermilab uses less than a gram of material in generating particle beams. Please excuse the laborious explanation, but I believe it's important to dispel misconceptions about the "dangers" of science. Lord knows, I'm incapable of dispelling any trading misconceptions around here.
The atomic bomb was developed at Los Alamos, New Mexico, not Fermilab. Fermilab is not involved in atomic weapons of any kind. Enrico Fermi achieved the first chain reaction under the bleachers of the squash court at the U. of Chicago: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dp42fe.html
From working at Fermilab I recall that there is an active prairie restoration project. Part of this includes annual prescribed burns. Maybe this is what you saw the smoke from? The prescribed burns recreate lightning (and Native American) fires that would sweep across the plains. I'm no expert, but I believe these fires are very useful at keeping down the non-native plant species and don't hurt the native grasses.
Sorry for my lack of understanding on the operations at Fermilab. To be honest I just kinda freaked out when I saw the smoke and that it was coming from there. As someone pointed out earlier and Aaron echoed, it may have been part of a prescribed burn. But with the whole Hamas assasination in the news, I guess I got a little paranoid (and to think it's been weeks since I smoked up !!!! ) when I saw smoke at Fermilab. Apologies to all who may have freaked out as a result of my thread. Vega
You did wear your emergency gas mask while driving around that area, didn't you? If not, try it some time. It scares the hell out of other people! Especially if there is lots of smoke and emergency vehicles around.
Yes, indeed. A place full of competent people with near psychic abilities... I just wish there were some traders here too, but I guess that's too much to ask for....