From Science News Letter, July 19, 1958

RUSSIANS TEST ACCELERATOR  —  Russian scientists reported the first results of experiments with their atom-smasher, the world’s largest, to the 1958 Annual International Conference on High Energy Physics in Geneva, Switzerland. Their studies showed the hard core of a proton, a fundamental particle of the atomic nucleus and a building block for all matter, shrinks at high energies. Using their atomic accelerator at close to its full power of ten billion electron volts, they bombarded a target of protons with a beam of protons…. None of the Russians in the 19-man delegation would comment concerning their proposed 50 billion electron volt (Bev) accelerator. One reason is believed to be the difficulties Soviet scientists have had in getting their ten Bev machine to work properly. Although it could now be operated at its full power, the beam intensity would be extremely weak.