Intersecting Storage Rings

device

Also known as: ISR

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June 17, 2026

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The Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) at CERN, operational in 1971, were a pioneering particle accelerator designed for high-energy particle interactions. Unlike stationary targets, colliding beams of particles moving in opposite directions maximize the available kinetic energy for collisions. The ISR stored protons in two interlaced rings, allowing them to collide at eight points, achieving a total collision energy of 62 GeV, equivalent to a 2 TeV stationary target collision. This technology was crucial for advancing particle physics research by enabling experiments at unprecedented energy levels.12

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colliding-beam storage ring
…early collider projects—for example, the Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) proton-proton collider, which operated at CERN in the 1970s—were built to collide beams of identical particles and so required two synchrotron rings that were interlaced to bring the beams into collision at two or more points. Two synchrotron rings are also…
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…early collider projects—for example, the Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) proton-proton collider, which operated at CERN in the 1970s—were built to collide beams of identical particles and so required two synchrotron rings that were interlaced to bring the beams into collision at two or more points. Two synchrotron rings are also…
Read More