Large Hadron Collider looks for November restart
Summary
Cern plans to restart the giant experiment in incremental stages. Within two weeks, scientists will inject a beam of protons - with the first beam collisions slated for mid-November.
Topics
The world's largest particle accelerator is on course for a November restart. Six out of eight superconducting sectors are down to working cryogenic temperatures, according to Cern, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
James Gillies, head of communications for Cern, told ZDNet UK on Monday that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) would probably be ready to collide beams of particles by mid-November.
Gillies said Cern planned to restart the giant experiment in incremental stages. Within two weeks, scientists will inject a beam of protons into the LHC and guide them around the first sector.
The first beam collisions are predicted for mid-November and will take place at half a tera electron volt (TeV), said Gillies. After this, the energy intensity will be increased to 3.5 TeV, probably by the end of the year or early in January.
Read more of "LHC on course for November restart" on ZDNet UK.
Talkback Most Recent of 7 Talkback(s)
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olePigeon5th Oct 2009 -
RE: Large Hadron Collider looks for November restart
I think it is an obscene waste of money. It will not feed the starving or house the homeless or provide much needed medical facilities in developing countries. It will not develop more sustainable, cleaner forms of energy. What is its purpose - to satisfy the curiosity of these astrophysicists? What good does it provide for humanity? There are much more worthwhile ways those billions could have been used.
Compostable5th Oct 2009 -
Except that it will, of course...
Just off the top of my head, I can think of dozens of innovations in materials science, agriculture, medicine and energy that have been provided by basic physics research. This currently affects us and those in developing countries in ways that you may not have considered.
Carbon-based capacitors are currently in the prototype stage, but they stand to revolutionize sustainable energy and would not be possible without physics research.
Have you ever used a Violight water filter? It uses ultraviolet radiation to economically and efficiently kill pathogens in water. The Internet is an excellent way to raise money and awareness for developing countries, but it wouldn't have been possible without a strong understanding of high energy physics.
Then there's solar panels, batteries, cell phones, MRIs, hybrid cars, CAT scans, millions of different polymers, X-ray machines, fiber optics, radioiodine treatments, laser eye surgey, modern medical instruments of nearly every type, etc, into infinity.
korbas6th Oct 2009 -
*clap clap clap*
Very well said, very well said. *clap clap clap clap*
lordphantom6th Oct 2009 -
And don't forget...
...the humble silicon chip... Without elements of physics - quantum and otherwise - we'd still be using macro transistors and vacuum tubes.
Wolfie2K39th Oct 2009 -
Just In Time: Obama was about to destroy us anyway
Good. Now we wont be called racists because that schmuck in the White House ****** up and we dared to oppose his views.
VoiceOfLogic6th Oct 2009 -
RE: Large Hadron Collider looks for November restart
Hawking doesn't think it will find the Higgs Boson
particle. Frankly building this thing for the EU is
like moving into a double wide to accommodate your big
screen TV!! They can't run the thing by design for 23
days a year! Because they can't power it and domestic
needs. They can barely power the 40k of processors
that will be needed to capture data. Building an auxiliary station on the French side, because there is
a nearby substation. This is in addition to the fact
that it is 1/3 the size of the unit they going to
build in Texas in the 80's 1/3 the size. Where they
going to run it in some obscure county in Texas. If i
can bellieve anything i've been reading it is horribly
under engineered and they've been at it for 15 years
conservativetroll9th Nov 2009
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