While the user-driven instrumentation projects discussed above represent powerful, and currently unique capabilities for the laboratory, the full potential of the investment in the South Hall Ring will only be realized if it is equipped with a large acceptance detector capable of a full program of internal target physics. Towards this end, a multinational collaboration has proposed the Bates Large Acceptance Spectrometer Toroid (BLAST). The combination of polarized beams of 100's of mA intensity, polarized gas targets and a large solid angle detector would be an exceptionally powerful tool for studies of the few-body systems and nucleon structure. Neutron form factors, spin-dependent spectral functions, isobar components of nuclear wavefunctions and multinucleon detection would be cornerstones of the BLAST physics program.
The BLAST program is deemed essential to the future success of the laboratory. Over 3200 hours of beamtime has been approved by the Bates Program Advisory Committee. In addition, the technical quality of the proposed detector has been strongly endorsed by an outside Technical Advisory Panel. Proceeding with its construction has the full support of the Bates Users Group and user community. It should, however, be emphasized that resources and personnel at Bates are presently strained to the very limit and, without augmentation, would be inadequate to undertake a project such as BLAST. The combination of internal targets and BLAST would be a unique facility worldwide for <1 GeV physics. Following the scheduled shutdown of NIKHEF, Bates would be the sole such facility. Bates with an internal target facility and readily available beams with energies below 1 GeV would be a powerful complement to the CEBAF program of >1 GeV physics.