Subscription Center
Sep 20, 2008 10:35 AM | 23
More glitches for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC): The same day operators announced that a 30-ton transformer that cools part of the particle smasher had broken within hours of the LHC's launch last week, a mishap yesterday resulted in "a large helium leak" into the collider's tunnel.
According to a press statement, "the most likely cause of the problem was a faulty electrical connection between two magnets, which probably melted at high current leading to mechanical failure."
No workers were at risk, according to CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which runs the LHC.
The leak means that the LHC will be down for at least two months, because workers must now warm up the faulty sector of the tunnel in order to repair it. The liquid helium is used to cool the LHC's magnets -- which guide protons and accelerate them so they can be smashed together -- down to within 1.9 kelvins (3.4 degrees Fahrenheit) of absolute zero.
For more on the LHC, see our in-depth report. It may be even longer now before we find out how long it takes the LHC to defrost a pizza.
Image of one of the LHC's superconducting magnets superimposed on an aerial view of CERN's accelerator complex near Geneva with the path of the LHC marked in red, courtesy of CERN
Tags:
lhc,
large hadron collider,
helium,
cern
More News Blog:
Next: McCain and Obama camps latch onto new media (with varying degrees of success)
Previous: Palin e-mail hack highlights weak Web security; Democratic lawmaker's son implicated
See what we're tweeting about
Deadline: Aug 31 2013
Reward: $100,000 USD
The Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer’s Initiative (GBFAI) is launching the 2013 Geoffrey Beene Global NeuroDiscovery Challenge whose
Deadline: Jul 15 2013
Reward: $5,000 USD
SciBX: Science-Business eXchange, a joint publication from the makers
Powered By: 
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
23 Comments
Add CommentI wonder how many claims of "answered prayers" we will have to deal with now about this........
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am sorry to have to say this, but 1.9Kelvins is not 3.4F - its around -456.25F or -271C.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI apologize, I see it says 3.4F of absolute zero. A little confusing while reading the first time through.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisit actually says 1.9 kelvins (or 3.4F) of absolute zero. since kelvins are "degrees above absolute zero" (for some value of "degrees"), it's clear you were misled by the misplacing of the closing parenthesis, which should have come after "zero".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisor something.
So what happened to the high-Tc superconductor hype?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy are you Americans still using Lbs, Miles and Fahrenheit? How about showing a little broad mindedness and use terms that the rest of the world uses like kilograms, meters and degree's celsius. Time to wake up and realise that there is another world out there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thislol, if we did that, then the people we live with, not to mention our teachers from k-12, would not understand a thing we were talking about!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisis it really works as everytime the currrent produce wiill be huge which will result to same problem again....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisis it really works as everytime the currrent produce wiill be huge which will result to same problem again....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTry to stay on topic
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's all about costs
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI know! I dislike the fact that we Americans still use miles, Fahrenheit, etc... high schools are the problem, not so much higher education and academia -- they've actually adapted for the most part.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo all readers, please have a little courtesy when using the term "American." I'm an American, but I'm not from the United States. I'm an American from Canada where we do use the metric system, and we do speak and write proper english, Yes, I know the definition of American has changed over time, but the change was the result of a taking by the United States and not a process where non-U.S. Americans aggreed to give redefine the definition.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease be aware, there is a growing concern among Americans, not from the United States, that we are being associated with those folks from the United States, and quite frankly we want nothing to do with the United States.
If I may make a suggestion; do what we do here. Simply refer to those folks down-below as "Yanks," or the longer version, "those arrogant, self serving pieces of ..."
If you happen to be making a reference to Americans in the continent of North and South America, then feel free to use the term Americans.
Thanks!
Will this instrument answer the ever lasting questions of how to cure disease, or how to solve the water shortage problem or white out starvation across the world, how about restoring natural resources, like oxigen. If it cannot or will not...WHY is it important? Put the real money to real use! There are great growing minds out there like our future population KIDS.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWill this thingamajig find answers to the everlasting questions like, cure diseases, end starvation across the world, restore natural resources like oxygen, avoid natural catastrophic disasters, protect the planet in a bubble. If it cannot and will not answers these, then DO THE MATH---put the real money to real use and help evolve the evergrowing minds of our future Einsteins. They may hold the key to many of our own nomadic lifestyles. (Use everything we can from this land and move to another country once they are depleted or worthless)...??? THINK MAN!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLooks like it's still up and running: http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou swallow dicks that are 2 meters long, better for you?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou swallow dicks 2 meters long. Better?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, it will!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt has become appearant to me that black holes - ie absolute matter generating absolute gravity is in all probability the logical conclusion to evolution of intelligent life .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt has become appearant to me that black holes ie : absolute matter generating absolute gravity is the logical conclusion to the evolution of intelligent life .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen can information be expected from this project?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisby the way, here in America we often ask ourselves why we're not using metric. few of us think its better to use our "American" system of measurement. it has long been discussed switching and most product labels include both American and metric.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this