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It's official! The hobbled Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be up and running again by next summer, according to CERN, the European lab for particle physics where the mighty LHC resides.

The info is part of a new report released today by the agency on the September incident that shuttered the world's largest particle accelerator. CERN determined in October that the LHC was done in by an electrical malfunction shortly after its initial start-up that caused a helium leak in its tunnel.

According to the new report, 53 of the collider's thousands of magnets were targeted for removal, inspection and possible cleaning or repair. The lab says that more than half of those magnets, which are confined to a three-kilometer stretch of the collider, have already been taken out, and that the process should be wrapped up, with all magnets back in place, by the end of March, leaving plenty of time for the LHC to rev up again by the end of June. The report confirms a ScientificAmerican.com story earlier this week refuting blog buzz that the LHC would be benched until 2010.

The fixes are designed to mend as well as to prevent future such incidents. Among preventive steps the lab's taking, the report says: retrofitting the LHC to withstand a helium leak twice as large as the one triggered by the September catastrophe.

Photograph of a replacement magnet being readied for installation ©CERN/Maximilien Brice

13 Comments

1. 1. SuperJesus 02:49 PM 12/5/08

   Only 6 more months of shopping until the creation of a man made world ending black hole! What ever will I wear?

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2. 2. theophys 05:54 PM 12/5/08

   Yay! We were so excited when it started up and very disappointed, yet still extremely amused, when it broke down almost immediatly.

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3. 3. lithiumdeuteride in reply to humanman1963 03:54 PM 12/6/08

   humanman:
   Reality isn't democratic, and it doesn't take your opinion into account. Numerous experiments confirm that the relative passage of time for two clocks depends on their relative velocities.

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4. 4. Quinn the Eskimo 11:58 PM 12/6/08

   Ummmm, well, just for discussion purposes here's a black hole for you:
   
   •
   
   
   

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5. 5. Dr. Itby Crunchtime PhD in reply to Quinn the Eskimo 04:23 AM 12/7/08

   See, now, I've refreshed this page five times now and that black hole is not getting any larger. I'm thinking we're safe. Yes, I know my assumption is not based on any scientific fact, but that seems par for the course in this thread.

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6. 6. Greg 07:50 AM 12/7/08

   I am Kummar, Intergalactic chief and warlord.
   
   The LHC is part of my plan to destroy the Earth. You MUST go ahead with the experiments.

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7. 7. zalman 05:46 PM 12/7/08

   nope

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8. 8. zalman 05:50 PM 12/7/08

   To bad the bid for the LHC went to the lowest bideer, but sometimes you get what you pay for.
   
   I remember before the first atomic bomb was tested. The Van Allan belt would catch fire. All the oxygen on he earth would be consumed. The chain reaction would continue til all of the planet was consumed.
   
   I wish to point out we are still here. I am not sure the world is any better off,
   but what ever. If we create a black hole and the earth ceases to exist so be it.
   

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9. 9. humanman1963 09:09 AM 12/8/08

   Can someone explain the difference between a black hole (gravitational singularity) and rip in subspace (quantum singularity) are they the same thing, or two opposite sides of the same coin, or maybe one creates another. And as to my time belief, since the speed of light has been proven to be just another artificial wall like the speed of sound. Maybe then an open mind and a ferm belief in the KISS principle. Will help us to see the universe or at least what is infront of us.

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10. 10. OhSnap in reply to humanman1963 05:31 PM 12/8/08

    Some of you should learn to spell properly before professing to know anything about science.

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11. 11. ass monger 08:16 AM 1/5/09

    you should all get laid, and yes i know i didnt use correct punctuation

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12. 12. ass monger 08:20 AM 1/5/09

    you should all get laid and yes i am aware i didnt use correct punctuation.

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13. 13. ass monger 08:37 AM 1/5/09

    you should all get laid and yes i am aware i didnt use correct punctuation

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