The Hunting of the Quark

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, which represents the cooperative efforts of thirteen nations of Western Europe, will be ten years old this year. The CERN Laboratory near Geneva has, during its relatively short lifetime, become known as one of the world’s great centers of physics research, partly because of its proton synchrotron and other advanced equipment, but also because of the enthusiasm and dedication of those who work there. For its value in reflecting some of the atmosphere and spirit of the laboratory and its staff, the following excerpt from a commentary on CERN activities during the month of February, which was originally published in the March 1964 issue of the CERN Courier, is reprinted below:

For most of the year at CERN, work goes on normally and, because few people are directly concerned, the fact that one or other of the experimental groups is at that moment discovering something new goes relatively unnoticed. In February, however, a number of events combined to provide the kind of excitement for the physicists that more than makes up for the long periods of monotony and to make the rest of the staff somewhat more aware than usual that interesting things were happening.