Helium leak forces two-month shutdown at LHC

The world's largest particle collider has been shut down for at least two months due to a large helium leak stemming from an incident Friday, officials said.

The Large Hadron Collider is a gigantic particle accelerator located in a nearly 17-mile-long circular tunnel along the French-Swiss border about 330 feet underground. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research, also known as CERN.

Click image for gallery on the Large Hadron Collider.

(Credit: Maximilien Brice for CERN)

The collider was officially launched on September 10 when the first particle beam was successfully sent around the full circuit. On the heels of an earlier malfunction due to a faulty transformer, CERN said Friday's incident was most likely caused "by a faulty electrical connection between two magnets, which probably melted at high current leading to mechanical failure." At no time was there any risk to people, CERN added.

Although a full investigation is still under way, CERN announced Saturday that the section of the tunnel will have to be "warmed up" for repairs, which means the LHC will be down for at least two months.

The LHC experiments involve accelerating two beams of subatomic particles--called hadrons--in opposite directions to more than 99.9 percent the speed of light. Smashing the beams together will create showers of new particles for physicists to study using special detectors.

The result is expected to push forward theories of particle physics and the fundamental building blocks of all things. The LHC was designed primarily as an attempt to product the "Higgs boson," a hypothetical particle whose observation would help confirm some of the predictions in the Standard Model of physics. Other currently theoretical particles may also be observed for the first time, including microscopic black holes.

Some have theorized that the black hole experiments could go wrong with catastrophic results, but CERN has done extensive safety analysis and has repeatedly denied any such threat.

[ucsdmike]

Life on Earth is guarenteed to continue for 2 more months! After that, there is only a nanoscopic chance it'll be sucked up whole by a blackhole.

[mythosmint]

that sucks...now we can't blow ourselves up for two months :(

[Wookiee-1138]

So did any scientists in the vicinity come out sounding like Mickey Mouse?

Or was it liquid helium for cooling?

[timber2005]

liquid helium

[dwinks]

Helium doesn't STAY liquid unless under very high pressure and/or low temperature. It would almost immediately turn to gas, which even the slightest grasp of scientific knowledge would make blatantly apparent.

[Kibblez]

Probably liquid helium because they are only really working with hydrogen atoms in the experiment, so why would they need helium in its natural state? And at the temperature its regulated at helium probably would be a liquid.

[e-mike]

One of the most technically important adjective in the entire article, "produce", is erroneously replaced with "product" in the 6th paragraph.

People who don't proofread should be denied access to spellchecking software.

[sbisking]

I agree. It's astounding that so many news articles contain spelling errors or use the wrong word in a sentence. Oh, and these are college educated people....makes you scratch your head.

[ampdup]

People who don't know the difference between adjectives and verbs should not be allowed to critique others' grammar.

[t26l]

Even if "produce" was an adjective, your sentence should read: "One of the most technically important adjectives [...]"

Did your spellcheck software fail you, too?

[e-mrcs]

Looks like a few people caught you in your mistake too. But I see what your saying. It's funny how a person can get so used to using a spell checker they fail to proof what word they replaced their misspelled word with.

[JTankers]

Yes CERN has denied that any threats exist, but is what CERN is telling the public open, honest and unbiased?[9][10][11]

Most scientists agree that high energy collisions at the Large Hadron Collider might create slow moving micro black holes[12]. Nature does not create slow moving micro black holes on Earth[13] but CERN theorizes these would evaporate extremely quickly or grow extremely slowly and thus not pose a danger[10]. Other scientists believe micro black holes might eventually cause a catastrophe on Earth and propose CERN slow down[1] and conduct additional safety reviews[2][3]. However CERN's plan is to reach high energy collisions as quickly as possible.[10]

Scientists views differ[14], but opposition scientists include senior German astrophysicist Dr. Habil. Rainer Plaga who refutes CERN's safety assumptions and proposes CERN slow down[1].

Endophysics founder and Chaos Theory contributor Prof. Dr. Otto E. Rössler calculates micro black holes would grow quickly and seeks a safety conference[2], former Nuclear Safety Officer and Cosmic Ray Researcher Walter L. Wagner originally discovered flaws in CERN's safety arguments and sued for proof of safety[3], and other scientists have written papers refuting aspects of CERN's safety arguments[4][5][6], given lectures questioning risk assessments[7][8] and written articles alleging bias and censorship in CERN's handling of safety information[9][10][11].

Others have called for scientific oversight.[15][16]

LHCFacts.org

[1] arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0808/0808.1415v1.pdf On the potential catastrophic risk from metastable quantum-black holes produced at particle colliders - Rainer Plaga Rebuttal (2008)

[2] www.wissensnavigator.com/documents/OTTOROESSLERMINIBLACKHOLE.pdf Abraham-Solution to Schwarzschild Metric Implies That CERN Miniblack Holes Pose a Planetary Risk, Prof. Dr. Otto Rossler (2008)

[3] www.lhcdefense.org/lhc_legal.php US Federal Lawsuit Filings - Walter L. Wagner (2008)

[4] http://arxiv.org/abs/0808.2631 On the Stability of Black Holes at the LHC, M. D. Maia, E. M. Monte (19 Aug 2008)

[5] xxx.lanl.gov/abs/gr-qc/0304042 Do black holes radiate?. Dr. Adam Helfer (2003)

[6] arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0607137, On the existence of black hole evaporation yet again, Prof. VA Belinski (2006)

[7] http://www.reason.com/news/show/128492.html A 1-in-1,000 Chance of Götterdämmerung, Will European physicists destroy the world? Ronald Bailey | September 2, 2008

[8] http://www.cambridgeblog.org/tag/shahn-majid/ Particle Accelerators, CERN, and Doomsday. Prof Shahn Majid (2008)

[9] http://www.lhcdefense.org/pdf/Sancho%20v%20Doe%20-%20Affidavit%20of%20Luis%20Sancho.pdf AFFIDAVIT OF LUIS SANCHO IN UPPORT OF TRO AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

[10] www.lhcfacts.org/?p=72 CERN?s Dr. Ellis tells only half of the story - LHCFacts.org (2008)

[11] twomosquitoes.blogspot.com/2008/09/cern-wins-battle-at-wikipedia-lhc.html CERN wins battle at Wikipedia, LHC history scrubbed, TWO MOSQUITOES

[12] cerncourier.com/cws/article/cern/29199 The case for mini black holes, CERN Courier (2004)

[13] http://www.lhcconcerns.com/LHCConcerns/Forums/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=10 LHC Safety Assessment Group, 16 Mar 2008

[14] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4727894.ece Peter Higgs launches attack against Nobel rival Stephen Hawking, TimesOnLine, Sep 11, 2008

[15] www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/09/10/do1005.xml, We must be wary of scientific research, Gerald Warner Telegraph.co.uk, (10 Sep 2008)

[16] http://www.scientificblogging.com/big_science_gambles/stop_cern_euro_court_action_slips_and_slides_forward Stop CERN Euro Court Action Slips And Slides Forward, Alan Gillis, 1 Sep 2008

[j.solo]

It's all fun and games until someone creates a blackhole.

Remember, what ever may transpire, the end won't actually come until December 22, 2012... so more than a couple of months to blow ourselves up!

[wartickler]

Awesome! Why is this the first time anyone has said this one? I keep thinking about this date and wondering what's to be? I love you, all!

[Kibblez]

Except we'll be alive on Dec. 23, 2012, I guarantee it.

[gmaegma]

Wow- how shocking! a claim of how the LHC will create micro black holes and destroy the world without one single peer reviewed reference - and no, arxiv-org doesnt count as "scientifically written papers" dude- I could post my recipe for chicken soup on there. Probably more scientifically justified than those papers you quote- definitely more tasty.......

[Kibblez]

And all the science sites are blogs...

[fourriders]

Hmmm....scientists wish to create a particle accelerator, which they guarantee to be absolutely safe and in the light of the Titanic and movie "Westworld", "nothing can go wrong."

However, the apparatus just failed.

Also, by virtue of the fact that the scientists hope to observe the Higgs Boson by acceleration using a Machine to deploy matter that already exists, created by somewhat intelligent human design, isn't this already an admission that it takes intelligent design to create the matter, Higgs Boson, worlds, humans and machines? The creation of the apparatus for the experiment, destroys and nullifies the antecedent reasoning for the experiment.

Therefore this is almost as much as welfare for scientists as is the bailout welfare for corporations.

[ikrase]

not by Titanic style.

Titanic was assumed to be unsinkable becuase they made it strong. Not strong enough

LHC: Cannot cause a black hole because the laws of physics do not allow it.

[Kibblez]

ikrase, are you a physicist? I don't think so. Don't go pointing out what you think the laws of physics are if you don't know them. There very well could be a black hole, but like the real scientists say it would go away quickly.

[ava4750]

So many glitches, a bad omen perhaps?

[e-mrcs]

There are glitches in every new project. What I would like to know is what the "incident" was that happened. They never explained it.

[lkrupp]

The shear ignorance of basic physics in these posts deeply saddens me. The flat-earth idiots and moon landing conspiracists must be very happy these days to see their numbers swelling. There is no hope for this country's future and that's the reason this great scientific instrument is in Europe and not the U.S.

[Philips]

I live in Europe (in fact 2 hours on car to LHC) and see about ZERO, ZILCH & NADA of useful outcome out of this experiment.

Your comment is indicative of what have bothered me for quite long time: why most scientists are so distant from "Real Life"?

As much as I hate corporations, scientists are very close to them in (un)trustworthiness.

[Kibblez]

Amen. Now all we have to do is fix the US and get the stupid people believing the truth.

[theonlybuster]

I don't think too many people are down because of this... 2 months of guaranteed Earth.

[upuaut]

I think more resources and research should be dedicated to unlocking the secrets of the Bozone and the associated layer(s) that surround a disproportionate number of people on this Earth. I think unlocking the secrets of the Higgs Boson could wait.

[vaibhav92]

Its good to see the level of scientific reasoning going down in US these days. First it was mad discussion about Intelligent Design now LHC. The pride of being the Technological leader still continues like the cold war but the reality has already slipped from underneath long before.
See for yourself LHC is in Europe not in US. Europe China Japan are way ahead of US these days in technological innovation and other countries too are fast catching up. It wont be long before US will stand behind many third world countries in this respect if things continue this way, which people like ucsdmike and others guarantee.

[MBHexperimenteur]

Never before have we allowed so few to risk the lives of so many for such vague gains and poorly defined reasons.

[lkrupp]

Spoken like a truly clueless luddite.

[Gzas]

Every body suddenly got ratuional

One thing that all of this negative apologist have in common either a religion or some similar belive of the same non objective academic level of enlightment .

why cant we have some one re-assuaring that God wont allowe CERN to distroy his solar system, or apply that highly interlectual system of reasoning that would usually go like "If CERN create a black hole with the LHC, it was mean by God to happen like that"

We could really use such a religius comfort rite now.

[Kibblez]

And you could really learn how to spell your words right. We're speaking science here - at least we're trying to but many idiots are blocking the way with their "the Earth is going to implode into a blackhole" BS. In science there can never be an assumption of Divine intervention because scientists do not have proof and never can get proof of anything Divine. So if you really want some comfort go ask a Priest or Rabbi.