Accelerate Lead Nuclei

Lead nuclei are produced from a highly purified lead sample heated to a temperature of about 500 °C. The lead vapour is ionized by an electron current. Many different charge states are produced with a maximum around Pb29+. These nuclei are selected and accelerated to 4.2 MeV/u (energy per nucleon) before passing through a carbon foil, which strips most of them to Pb54+. The Pb54+ beam is accumulated, then accelerated to 72 MeV/u in the Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR), which transfers them to the PS. The PS accelerates the beam to 5.9 GeV/u and sends it to the SPS after first passing it through a second foil where it is fully stripped to Pb82+. The SPS accelerates it to 177 GeV/u then sends it to the LHC, which accelerates it to 2.76 TeV/u