These papers document Caltech's building of a one-billion volt
(1 BeV) electron accelerator, the synchrotron. Funded by the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the project marked the beginning
of high energy physics at Caltech. The records consist of
photos, technical notes, reports, conference proceedings, and
proposals to the Atomic Energy Commission. In the Spring of
1949, the Institute announced plans to build a one-billion volt
("1 BeV") electron accelerator. Robert Bacher, chairman of
Caltech's Physics Division, stated: "The purpose of the new
accelerator will be to seek additional knowledge about the
nature of the forces that hold atomic nuclei together." The new
accelerator, the synchrotron, would be the most powerful machine
of its type ever built. The funding of the project by the U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission marked the beginning of high energy
physics at Caltech. Copyright may not have been assigned to the
California Institute of Technology Archives. All requests for
permission to publish or quote from