Turbomolecular pumps are used in nuclear physics labs to create and maintain high vacuum environments. These pumps work by imparting momentum to gas molecules and atoms by repeated collision with a moving solid surface, sending them out an exhaust port. Edwards Vacuum manufactures a turbo pump and controller system that the Fox Lab uses, but it needed to be mounted and “hacked” to get a logic signal indicating whether the pump was operating or not so
The reliability of analog vacuum gauges in the midst of EMI and high voltage sparks such as the environment around a particle accelerator has kept them in use at the Fox Lab for many decades. The electronics are fairly straightforward which makes them fairly easy to repair and rebuild as needed. Without experience maintaining analog electronics, however, it can take a while to build the intuition needed to troubleshoot them efficiently. Also, there have been