Large Hadron Collider Could Re-Start This Weekend

By Nancy Atkinson - November 19, 2009 at 4:24 PM UTC | Physics
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The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) could be re-started on this Saturday morning CERN officials said. Engineers are preparing to send a beam of sub-atomic particles around the 27km-long circular tunnel, which has been shut down since an accident in September 2008. Scientists hope to create conditions similar to those present moments after the Big Bang in search of the elusive Higgs particle to shed light on fundamental questions about the universe.

The massive "Big Bang Machine" as it's been called is located on the French-Swiss border and is operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)

Watch an animated movie from CERN that explains how the LHC works.

1,200 superconducting magnets arranged end-to-end in the underground tunnel bend proton beams in opposite directions around the main "ring" at close to the speed of light.

At allotted points around the tunnel, the proton beams cross paths, smashing into one another. Physicists hope to see new sub-atomic particles in the debris of these collisions.

The LHC had only recently been turned when on Sept. 19, 2008 a magnet problem called a "quench" caused a ton of liquid helium to leak into the tunnel.

Liquid helium is used to cool the LHC to an operating temperature of 1.9 kelvin (-271C; -456F).

Low-energy collisions are expected a week or two after full beam. High energy collisions will take place starting in early 2010.

Source:

BBC

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com