Large Hadron Collider shut down until spring

Large Hadron Collider shut down until spring

The Large Hadron Collider, which aims unravel the secrets of the Big Bang, will be closed down until spring 2009 as scientists work to repair a magnetic failure.

A tonne of liquid helium spilled into the machine’s 17 mile tunnel on Friday, forcing scientists to shut it off less than ten days after the start of the project in Geneva, Switzerland.

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern), which is running the experiment, said initial investigations suggest there is a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator’s magnets.

Robert Aymar, director general of Cern, said: “Coming immediately after the very successful start of LHC operation on September 10, this is undoubtedly a psychological blow. “I have no doubt that we will overcome this setback with the same degree of rigour and application. ”

The £ 3. 6 billion particle accelerator, one of the most expensive scientific experiments in history, is built to smash protons together at enormous speeds.

It is hoped this will recreate conditions moments after the universe was created, and lead scientists to discovering some of the most fundamental questions in physics.

The tunnel must be brought up to room temperature to allow engineers to inspect the magnets. The process will take three or four weeks. The machine has more than 1, 200 “dipole” magnets arranged end-to-end in an underground tunnel that runs in a circle for 27 km.

At allotted points around the tunnel, the beams will cross paths, smashing together near four massive “detectors” that monitor the collisions for interesting events.

Thank you for a watching my presentation.

By Juicy