Felicia (ferret)
.jpg) Felicia after cleaning a vacuum pipe c. 1972 | |
| Species | Ferret |
|---|---|
| Sex | Female |
| Born | Gaylord, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | May 9th, 1972 Illinois, United States |
| Employer | Fermilab |
| Notable role | Cleaning vacuum pipes |
| Years active | 1971–1972 |
| Owner | Walter Pelczarski |
Felicia was an American ferret briefly used to clean narrow pipes in Fermilab, then known as the National Accelerator Laboratory, during the 1970s.[1][2][3]
Biography
In the 1960s and 1970s, scientists at the National Accelerator Laboratory adjacent to Batavia, Illinois in the United States designed a particle accelerator known as the Main Ring. A large ring of narrow tubing, 4 mi (6.4 km) in circumference, was necessary to its function. However, small pieces of debris littered the narrow tube. Scientists had difficulty finding out how to clean the tubing.[2]
In 1971, Robert Sheldon, a scientist visiting from Britain, suggested that they use a ferret. He knew that poachers sent ferrets into narrow tunnels in Yorkshire to hunt for rabbits.[4] The NAL purchased Felicia from a farm in Gaylord, Minnesota. They chose Felicia for her small size in comparison to other ferrets; she was 15 in (38 cm) long. Scientists trained her to scamper through increasingly long tubes so she could work in the particle accelerator. They placed a diaper and a collar with a long string on her, then had her go through the tube. When she emerged from the other end, they attached a cleaning swab to the string and pulled it through, clearing the tube of debris. Staff incentivized her with raw meat and fish.[5] Walter Pelczarski, the mechanical designer of the lab who was in charge of Felicia, said that ferrets' natural curiosity made Felicia ideal for the job.[2]
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Felicia refused to actually enter the Main Ring after her period of training, so she was assigned to shorter, straight lengths of tube in the NAL's Meson Lab.[2] Engineer Hans Kautzky designed a magnet attached to a steel cable to clean the circular Main Ring accelerator, which was dubbed a "magnetic ferret."[4] The Main Ring was officially closed in 1997, making way for Fermilab's Main Injector.[6]
Local media learned about Felicia, and she featured in contemporary news stories and radio shows about the NAL.[5] One writer for the Chicago Sun Times described her as an "atomic age pipe cleaner" in 1971.[7]
Felicia retired after a dozen runs in the Meson Lab. She spent much of her time either at a nearby mink farm or as a pet in the homes of NAL staffers. She died on May 9, 1972, of a ruptured intestinal abscess. Although a local newspaper, The Village Crier, reported plans to taxidermy her body, Felicia's final resting place is not known.[2]
References
- ↑ Shin, Melissa (February 9, 2017). "Four Things You Might Not Know About Fermilab". Chicago. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Pinkowski, Jen (April 2, 2019). "Why Physicists Tried to Put a Ferret in a Particle Accelerator". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019.
- ↑ Close, Frank; Marten, Michael; Sutton, Christine (2004). The Particle Odyssey: A Journey to the Heart of Matter. Oxford University Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780191647444.
- 1 2 Searcy, Maureen (2014). "A Fuzzy Concept". University of Chicago Magazine. University of Chicago. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015.
- 1 2 Cahn, Robert N.; Quigg, Chris (2023). Grace in All Simplicity: Beauty, Truth, and Wonders on the Path to the Higgs Boson and New Laws of Nature. Pegasus Books. ISBN 9781639364824.
- ↑ Butler, Sharon (September 26, 1997). "Historic Main Ring Bids Farewell Forever". Fermilab. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021.
- ↑ Anderson, David (September 10, 1971). "Felicia the Ferret: Pipe Cleaner for AEC". Chicago Sun Times. Chicago. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021.