INFN-LNF Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati
Built in 1955, the National Laboratory of Frascati (LNF) were the first Italian research facility for the study of nuclear and subnuclear physics with accelerators and are the largest laboratory of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the public body whose mission is theoretical, experimental and technological research in subnuclear, nuclear and astroparticle physics.
The main characteristic of LNF consists in knowing how to build particle accelerators.
This activity started in 1957 with the 1.1 GeV electron synchrotron, the most powerful machine at the time, continued with AdA (1961), the first electron-positron collider ever built, and its successor ADONE (1969) and culminated in 2000 with the construction of DAφNE, the collider still in operation that holds the world record of low energy instantaneous luminosity.
In addition, LNF hosts the SPARC free-electron laser, built in collaboration with ENEA and CNR, and the extremely high power FLAME laser for the study of innovative particle acceleration techniques.
The thirteen hectares of laboratories include all the necessary research infrastructures: equipment for the design and construction of high-technology accelerators and detectors, the computer centre with connection to GARR (the communication network dedicated to research institutions), the library and the scientific documentation service.. In addition, the laboratory also hosts the Health Physics and Occupational Medicine Service and the Occupational Safety Departments, responsible for all safety measures including risks from pollution and radiation sources.